


Here Among The Pyreflies

by Kanako_Hime, LadyOfSlytherin101



Series: If I Stay [2]
Category: Final Fantasy X
Genre: Abu the Squatter Monkey, Albus the Duck, Angst, Awkwardness, Based on Guidelines, Chocobos, Clothes Theft, F/M, Friendship, Hilarity, Humour, Language-swapping, Multi, One-Sided Attraction, Other, Romance, Severus the Cat, Sexual Tension, Some Citrus, Tattoos, The Talk, World-hopping, kamikaze, movie quotes, references, smacking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2016-08-31
Packaged: 2018-08-11 15:52:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 24,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7898713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kanako_Hime/pseuds/Kanako_Hime, https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyOfSlytherin101/pseuds/LadyOfSlytherin101
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on our Guideline Series...Ariana Oswald and Rosalie Tyler are still world-hopping and they land in Spira, joining Yuna on her pilgrimage. Once the journey is over, they'll leave and continue travelling, as usual....right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Landing in Kilika

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Guidelines to Living in Spira](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7673317) by [Kanako_Hime](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kanako_Hime/pseuds/Kanako_Hime), [LadyOfSlytherin101](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyOfSlytherin101/pseuds/LadyOfSlytherin101). 



Rosalie hated Jumping. She always ended up dizzy and sick to her stomach. She groaned as she rolled onto her stomach and resisted the urge to heave. "Ugh... Why? Why is it always like this?" she whined. Her friend Ariana stretched and shrugged, annoyingly unaffected as usual as she pulled a water bottle out of her bag.

"Weak stomach?" she offered, taking a sip of water before pushing the bottle into her friend's hands.

"Thanks..." Rosalie sat up on her knees and took a swig of water. "Where are we, anyways?" She looked around, trying to make sense of the jungle around them.

The blonde snorted. "As if I know. You have the book, so you pick the destinations, remember? I just hang on for the ride." She glanced around, sniffing. "I can smell the sea."

Rosalie screwed up her eyes, trying to remember what the hell she picked this time. "So we're on an island. Not exactly many places like that."

"Or you landed us in the Land of Spring. Again," she snarked. "That princess is crazy."

"Oh shush already," Rosalie groaned. "I'm trying to think."

"That'll be the day," she snorted, shrugging innocently when her friend glared at her. "All right, all right."

She looked around, trying to find some kind of marker so she could figure out where they were. "There's a few paths. I wouldn't say go exploring at this moment." She paused when a small creature ran past them.

"Are we in Narnia?" Ariana wondered. "Sweet! Maybe Aslan can pick me up."

"I'm sure Narnia doesn't have tropical jungles." She wracked her brains trying to remember where she had seen that creature before.

"It _does_ , but anyway..." her friend muttered, making for the bushes. "I'll see if Taiitsukun left us anything while you think."

 _Jungle Book perhaps?_ Rosalie mused to herself. _No, not near the sea. Tarzan? Plausible. Which means we'd have to watch out for Sabor, but the jungle has no things like that._ She chewed her bottom lip, a bad habit she had picked up while travelling. She saw another one of the creatures run by and it dawned on her. "Ariana!" she jumped up happily, swaying slightly as her vision swam. Clearly she wasn't fully settled. "I know where we are."

"Fine, keep your shirt on, I'm changing!" Ariana's voice called back, slightly muffled. "How the heck does this even..."

"Watch out for fiends then," Rosalie replied innocently. "It'd be bad if they caught you while you were trying to dress."

"I'll survive," her friend replied dryly, stepping back into the clearing with two bundles under her arms. She'd changed from her navy-and-white-dress ensemble into a long skirt that flowed around her ankles, changing from a pretty tangerine colour into a butter-yellow rising from the hemline. The skirt was held in place with a thin golden belt and thick red cord that had a peach-coloured, knee-length fabric hanging from it, stitched with red thread. She had on a faded red top that showed her stomach and had only one shoulder strap, while golden bangles jangled merrily from her wrists. "Change into this," she added, tossing a bundle at the redhead as she clicked an ornate metal choker into place and put two red flower clips in her hair. "You stick out like a sore thumb."

"We're in Kilika," Rosalie informed her, catching the bundle, ignoring the sore thumb comment.

"I know. I saw the village down below." Ariana paused, fiddling with a long hank of her hair. "How much time do you think we have? Did we even arrive during Yuna's pilgrimage?"

Rosalie shrugged. "I have no clue. Was the village standing?"

Her friend gave her a look. "Would I be here talking to you if it _wasn't_?" she asked. "Go change."

Rosalie disappeared into the bushes. "Hey, I'm just checking." She ditched her own clothes consisting of a dark blue knee length skirt, long sleeved white blouse, brown leather vest and her boots and tights, before examining the new clothes. She slipped on the emerald green bandeu top that fit surprisingly well and didn't show signs of slipping off, before putting on the skirt. The skirt was like a patch work of different shades of green on it, a fringe on the hemline, a slit on the right side of the skirt going up to her hip. She pulled on a gold armband up her right arm where it stayed in place on her upper arm and placed white flower clips into her hair. It showed a bit more than she was used to, but with the tropical heat, it felt good. She just hoped her curls didn't fall flat.

"Yeah, well, the last time I Jumped solo, I landed way off course," the blonde pointed out, remembering. Aslan had looked pretty damn surprised to see her appear while he'd been _creating_ the damn world. What a fun time _that_ had been.

"You're making it sound like that was my fault," Rosalie stated as she stepped out.

"It was," her friend deadpanned, shoving her clothes into her little bag.

"How was I supposed to know you were going to land _there_?"

"Because you were distracting me when I was about to jump; you were too busy kissing Lucius," she said smugly, watching as her friend went pink.

"Pfft. Man can kiss," Rosalie brushed her off. 

"You're avoiding the issue, but whatever," Ariana laughed, sobering quickly. "What's the trick going to be this time?"

Rosalie didn't respond as she stuffed her clothes into her pouch. She stood up and looked around. She sighed. "Try not to get too attached?" She looked over at Ariana. "And try not to die?"

"As you wish," she replied, thinking for a moment. "I think...I don't want all those people to die. Luzzu, Gatta, all the summoners that the Guado killed, Auron and Tidus if I can help it...all the innocents that didn't deserve to die because of a few fruitcakes."

"The soldiers at the Operation?" Rosalie asked quietly. A single nod was her answer.

"If we can stop it."

"And... Seymour... Him too, if we can...?" Rosalie added. Ariana's nose scrunched as she folded her arms and stared accusingly at her friend. "He's not all that bad. Messed up childhood and being shunned from both sides would really do a number on a person," Rosalie defended. "I think if maybe someone showed him they cared, he wouldn't be so bad."

"That 'someone' better not be _you_ up to your old ways," Ariana snapped, sighing. "Fine. Even him. _If_ we have enough proof that he's a good person. And we _both_ have to agree on it."

"No tricks. I really do feel bad for him. I always have. I think... Saving him will lessen the guilt I always felt about not being able to help." Rosalie held up her hands, honesty written across her face. "But we don't have to save Kinoc do we?"

A peal of laughter escaped from Ariana. "Debatable. I'll see how everything goes."

"I already vote no," Rosalie smirked. "He can go die in a hole for all I care. He's creepy."

"If I'm giving Seymour a chance, I'm giving this guy one," the blonde shrugged. "That's my condition; so like it or lump it."

"Blah!" Rosalie pulled a face as her friend held out a hand and the two shook on it. "Well, here's not to getting killed!" she chirped cheerfully. "Now lets get out of her before that Lord Ochu shows up."

"Bless you," she said absently, eyes scanning the treetops before narrowing. "It's already late afternoon. Doesn't Sin attack in the early evening in the game?"

Rosalie groaned. "No! It's the huge nasty plant fiend that blocks the way to the temple." The red-head paused, her friend's words sinking in. "Oh shit! We have to do something!"

"Calm down, woman!" Ariana snapped. "We don't even know if it's today it's supposed to happen. Get out your telescope, shimmy up a tree and see if you can see something."

Rosalie did just that, pulling out her telescope and climbed up one of the trees. Once she reached the top, she pulled the telescope to it's proper length and had a look. "I don't really see anything... Wait. There's some sort of disturbance out in the water. It's pretty far though, but it looks big. If I can see it from here, it might be Sin."

"Make sure it is!" Ariana shouted up. Rosalie adjusted the vision before peering through again.

"Oh no..." She felt her blood run cold. "Sin!"

Ariana bolted from the clearing, heading straight for the village. She came to an abrupt stop as the first house came into view.

Rosalie hopped down and followed after and nearly collided into Ariana. "Why'd you stop? Sin is still far away but that can change very quickly."

Ariana's hands clenched into fists. "I know. But..." she bit her lip. "This is where Tidus first gets his idea of changing Yuna's fate as a summoner. He sees her dancing."

"I know, but is now really the time to be discussing it? Sin is going to be here soon, so less talking, more saving. We can worry later," Rosalie replied. "I'm not saying we'll be able to save everyone. Honestly, I'd feel better for Yuna if she didn't have to send so many people this time around. You with me?" She asked, holding out her hand.

Ariana whirled and slapped her hand away, angry tears in her eyes. "Do you really think I'm that heartless? Do you think I'd actually kill kids? I'm not that damn heartless! I'm being practical! Some people will have to die for Tidus to start thinking of how to save Yuna!" She sniffed ad her friend's impassive stare. "Whatever. You get your ass out there and get the people on this side up to the temple. I'll deal with the ones on the far side."

Rosalie merely stared at her before she started running towards the village and began raising the alarm. People didn't ask her where she had come from or how she knew, they listened to her as she ordered them to get to the temple as fast as they could. She ran around to the houses to alert anyone inside that Sin was coming and to take cover. A lot of the men stayed behind as to try and protect their homes and families, refusing to seek shelter. She climbed up on top of a house to see where Sin was. He was still far away, but she knew that wouldn't last long.

She hoped Ariana was doing all right.

She jumped down and helped round up any stragglers and children that could not run fast on their own. She helped a woman with her children and carried one of the smaller ones as she headed for the temple. She looked back to see if she missed anyone before going up the trails to the temple. They'd be screwed if that giant fiend showed up and blocked their way. The path was clear thankfully and everyone managed to make it into the temple. She waited by the doors as more people came, trying to catch a glimpse of her friend. Just as the sun started to spread its colours on the clouds, there was an enormous roar. Several villagers who were still outside the temple turned to see their homes being torn apart, a huge cyclone of debris, water and trees swirling where the village of Kilika had sat moments ago.

"Move!" Rosalie cried, urging the villagers to get inside. She stood off to the side as they rushed in, trying to find Ariana in the crowd. "Ariana! Where are you?"

"I'm here!" a familiar voice yelled. She turned to see her friend making her way towards her, slightly bedraggled with a huge group of children around her. "I had to rescue this little guy!" She showed off a purring bundle of black fluff in her arms. "The brats were torturing him." She gave the stink-eye to the kids who shuffled nervously and darted into the temple.

Rosalie sighed in relief before ordering, "Get inside before the backlash hits."


	2. Kilika Temple

When one of the elders deemed it safe to return to the village, it was a very quiet and subdued bunch that made their way down. Very few houses remained, while people's personal belongings were strewn about carelessly on the remaining walkways or floating in the water, ruined. Rosalie bit her lip and looked away when they came across the bodies of those who had stayed behind. It had been of their own will. She had to remind herself that many more would have died as well had they not been warned. She knelt down and fished a small doll out of the water, the yarn used for its hair torn and tangled, its body heavy with sea water. She wrung it out the best she could and held onto it in case she could find the little girl it belonged to.

Ariana spoke quietly to the elder who had given the order to return, a hand resting reassuringly on his arm as they talked. He nodded and began grouping the villagers into different units to begin the clear-up. Ariana and several others began the unpleasant task of gathering the dead from the sea and laying them out on a slightly-damaged walkway, ready to be prepared for burial and Sending.

Rosalie walked through the ruins, stopping in each group of children she came across to find the owner of the doll. She had no luck as all the children she talked to said that the doll was not theirs. Soon, there were no more children left and Rosalie felt her heart grow heavy as she still held onto the doll. She didn't dare to look at the bodies, for fear that the child would be there. She walked over to Ariana and stood silently by her side. Eventually, a ship docked in the harbour, and the pair watched as Yuna practically leapt over the side, eager to help.

"She won't be eager for long," Ariana murmured, petting her cat from where he rested on her shoulder. "Poor kid."

"No...But there won't be so many to Send now," Rosalie replied quietly, looking down at the doll again.

The elders brought Yuna to the small walkway that had now been cleared, and a small crowd gathered to watch the summoner perform a Sending that would ensure their loved ones would not become Fiends. Ariana found a spot near Tidus and Lulu, close enough to hear their conversation, but far enough away to not draw their attention. Yuna removed her shoes and walked out onto the water, her staff in hand as she stood in the centre of the circle of sunken coffins. She paused, took a breath, and began to perform the Sending. Ariana inwardly agreed with Tidus' opinion of the event in the game: strange, and somewhat horrifying. She never wanted to see it again.

Rosalie stood in the crowd and fought back tears when a woman collapsed to the ground, crying out for her child. It didn't take much to figure out that the child who was being Sent was the one who had lost the doll and this woman was her mother. She quietly walked over and knelt down next to the woman and offered her the doll. The woman took it, clutching onto Rosalie's arm as she cried. The red-head remained where she was, forcing herself to watch Yuna dance. It boggled her mind how something so beautiful and mesmerising be so sad? She felt tears spill down her cheeks as she wondered how many Sendings they'd have to witness before this nightmare ended.

* * *

The village still looked terrible the next morning, but the mood had lightened considerably, Ariana noted as she washed in their tiny shared room at the inn. Rosalie was still out for the count, and as far as she could tell, so was Yuna and her group. They would be heading up to the temple later though, and she had to make _sure_ Yuna invited them on her pilgrimage, no ifs, ands or buts about it. She settled into the only chair in the room, brushing out her hair as Severus pawed at the window, demanding to be let in. Grinning, she pushed on the glass and the cat slithered inside, leaping for the bed and landing with a pretty loud thump on her roommate. She giggled, putting her brush back into her bag to watch the show.

Rosalie sat up with a jolt and groaned, very unhappy that something had landed on her. She yawned and turned her head to find Severus on her back, glaring up at her. "Ari...Your cat is on me..."

"I know, right?" she said cheerfully. "He's a good alarm clock."

"Why is the furball on me?" 

"He's waking you up," she reminded her patiently. "Because we're trying to be a part of Yuna's pilgrimage. Remember?" When her friend just blinked sleepily at her, she sighed. "Look. Just wash up and I'll get some food for you." Ariana slipped from the room, her cat following her like a little shadow. Rosalie stretched and disappeared into the bathroom to wash up and brush out her hair. Once she was done, she walked back out and made sure everything was packed and ready. The door creaked open and Ariana entered, baring a small tray loaded with food.

"You were lucky," she commented, putting the tray on the tiny dressing table and taking a plate of scrambled eggs. "If I'd gone down any later, there wouldn't have been any food. The entire village seems to be eating downstairs."

Rosalie nodded in thanks and picked some fruit to eat. "Is Yuna awake yet?"

Ariana shook her head. "Tidus brought up a couple of trays of food as well, so it's safe to assume they're still here." Her lip curled. "Actually, I got to speak to Tidus for a few seconds. It might come in handy later."

"Oh?" Rosalie looked up, a small smile playing on her face.

"Nothing like that," the blonde scowled. "I don't care for whiny men. Besides, I ship him and Yuna."

"Is this part of your brilliant plan to get us to go with Yuna and the others?"

A snort. "Who said I had a plan? I'm flying by the seat of my pants for this one."

Rosalie chuckled. "If you say so. If Tidus is getting food for them, it's probably safe to say they'll be heading for the temple soon. Doesn't Tidus run into Dona there and get tossed down by Barthello?"

"Oh yeah," she giggled. "I forgot about that. He'll have fun."

"It'd be a shame if we were to miss that show," Rosalie smirked. Ariana rolled her eyes and shoved a piece of toast into Rosalie's mouth.

"Less talking, more eating."

Less then an hour later found the two females (and feline) lounging outside the temple. Ariana was reading a book, scribbling notes into the margin occasionally as Sev groomed himself. Rosalie was stretching her limbs out, sighing when her back popped.

"We're going to be out of range of the Sinspawn, right? 'Cause we don't have weapons on hand. Unless they're in our bags." She could hear the sound of fighting far below them.

"They're further down the hill," Ariana muttered, not glancing up from her book. "Just chill."

"I'm going to check and see what we've got." She started digging around in her own bag, finding more clothes that were suitable for this world as well as gil, potions and- "Ah ha!" Rosalie laughed gleefully. She pulled out the weapon she had been given, a whip with an elegantly carved white handle with a crystal on the end of it. It seemed to glow with different colours as she examined it. "I got a whip." She cracked it at one of the steps and a patch of ice appeared where the whip had touched. "Oooh!" She tested it out a few more times, getting a different elemental spell each time.

"That's nice, dear," came the reply.

"Dude, it's magic. It has different elements in it." Rosalie was incredibly happy about this discovery. Ariana's book closed with a snap.

"Dude, we went to Hogwarts, where we lived, breathed and practically _ate_ magic. Your point?" She was a little irritated that she'd had to stop half-way through her favourite chapter.

"Stop ruining my fun. That was a wand. The fact that I have something that can do magic to some degree is making me happy. Besides, its not like I can point this at something and make it fly," Rosalie pouted.

"It's also not like you've tried," Ariana pointed out, her gaze landing on something behind her friend. "Looks like they've arrived."

Rosalie turned around and coiled the whip up, sticking it back in her bag. She did the prayer gesture as Yuna and her group approached. "Greetings Lady Yuna." She straightened up. "It's an honour to meet you. I am Rosalie and this is my friend Ariana." She gestured to her friend as she stood up and bowed as well.

"Hi," she smiled before fixing her gaze on the blonde blizballer. "Hey Tidus."

"Hi!" the boy greeted cheerfully. "Didn't think we'd see you here!"

"Funny how the world works," she agreed, "Who are your friends?"

As Tidus made the introductions, Rosalie looked behind her and muttered a soft, "Uh-oh."

Bickson, Graav and Abus of the Luca Goers Blitzball team were finally making their appearance as they left the temple. They walked straight up to Wakka, smug looks on their faces.

"You here to pray for victory, too?" Wakka asked, his tone polite.

"Us? Pray?" Bickson sneered. "Who needs to pray? The Luca Goers always win!"

"Oh, yeah? Then why are you here?" Wakka asked, defensive.

"We've been praying for some competition this year!" Graav drawled. "So what's your goal this time? You gonna "do your best" again?"

"Ha! It's too bad your best isn't good enough! Why even bother showing up?" Abus

"This time, we play to win!" Tidus interjected.

"Oooh! Play away! Just remember even kids can play, boys." Bickson paused, looking Rosalie up and down before smirking at her. "And when we win again, you can come find me, cutie."

Rosalie snarled under her breath as Ariana sighed. "What?"

Bickson didn't seem to know he was in dangerous territory. "You can come find me after the game and join me in our victory party. I'm sure I could show you a good time." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Remove the arm before I bite you," Rosalie growled.

"Ooh, cutie has claws," Bickson laughed. Rosalie turned her head and sank her teeth into Bickson's arm, making him let go with a yell. She then jumped on him, fists flying as she pummelled him and his friends when they tried helping.

"I'll teach you to call me cutie! The Aurochs will kick your sorry asses!" She hissed as she continued to fight them. The trio escaped and ran away from Rosalie in fright, sporting bruises and scratches as well as a few bite marks. Bickson was sporting a lovely black eye courtesy of Rosalie's fist. Rosalie watched them flee, spitting a bit. "Bleh, nasty flavour. What a bunch of wimps."

"See you in the finals!" Wakka yelled after them. He grinned at Rosalie. "I like her ya!"

Lulu and Ariana both face-palmed.

"Beat them good in the tournament," Rosalie said to Wakka. "I'll be praying for your victory."

"We'll beat them. We have to!" Tidus muttered, mostly to himself.

"You know that team?" Yuna asked curiously.

"Putting people down... They're as bad as my old man!" the star of the Zanarkand Abes complained.

"But, Sir Jecht was a kind and gentle man!" the summoner interjected, horrified.

"Well, not my Jecht," a pissed Tidus scoffed as the group, Ariana and Rosalie entered the temple. It was a circular room with a large diameter. Large bowls of fire were sunken into blocks of stone that were evenly spaced throughout the circumference. The glow from the fires lit the room in a warm, soft light, illuminating the statues of the High Summoners of Spira. Wakka and Tidus made their way to one such statue, bowing and praying.

"Lord Ohalland, guide our feet," Wakka mumbled. Rosalie looked around, smiling when one of the Squatter Monkeys came up to her and climbed up to her head. It looked like she had a new pet. Ariana had the cat, it was only fair she had her own pet. It was awfully cute too as it curled up for a nap on her head. Rosalie wandered over to Ariana and watched the entrance to the Cloister.

"Ooh, slut alert," she mumbled to Ariana as a scantily-clad woman and a muscular man exited from the Cloister of Trials and looked at Yuna.

"A summoner, are you?" the woman drawled, stepping down to her.

"My name is Yuna; from the Isle of Besaid," Yuna said in that sweet little way of hers, bowing politely. The other woman scoffed.

"Dona." She eyed Yuna piercingly. "So, you're High Summoner Braska's daughter. That's quite a name to live up to. My, my, my..." She walked around the young summoner once, turning to look distastefully at the group. "And _all_ these people are your guardians? My, what a rabble! As I recall, Lord Braska had only _two_ guardians." She face Yuna once again, holding a hand to her mouth mockingly. "Quality over quantity, my dear. Whatever were you thinking? I have need of only _one_ guardian. Right, Barthello?"

Barthello, the muscular man, nodded. Kimahri stepped forward and faced him.

"Eh, we're not actually her Guardians," Ariana muttered quietly to her friend. _Yet._

"She should still show Yuna some respect," Rosalie whispered back, eyeing Dona in distaste.

"I only have as many guardians as there are people I can trust," Yuna said sweetly. "I trust them all with my life! To have so many guardians is a joy, and an honour! Even more so than being my father's daughter." She paused and smiled at Dona. "Of course, I would _never_ think of questioning your ways, either. So, Lady Dona, I ask of you: please leave us in peace." Dona scoffed.

"You do what you want," she sneered, "Barthello, we're leaving." The pair turned and left the Temple.

"One of these days, I'm gonna get her," Rosalie growled under her breath as she watched them leave.

"Get in line, Yuna gets first dibs," Ariana replied tersely. "Well, you guys have the Trials now, right?" the blonde girl said cheerfully. "Best of luck; you can do it! If you like, we can all go get something to eat afterwards. I hear it really drains you!"

"Good luck, Lady Yuna! I know you can do it! Don't listen to what that she demon said about you. She's just jealous because you have so many who are loyal to you and she has only one Guardian she can trust. Rather, he's the only one who can put up with her." Rosalie smiled encouragingly. "Your father would be very proud of you."

Yuna smiled and her Guardians ushered her up the steps into the Cloister of Trials, the door closing loudly.

"I swear, how that man can even stand being around that woman, I'll never know. She's so... nasty!" Rosalie mused.

"It must be love," Ariana grinned, throwing an arm around Tidus. "So, Tidus! What'cha want to do while Yuna does her boring old trial?"

"Yeah! I'm sure we can find something to do while we wait." She hissed when Dona and Barthello came back. "What are _you_ doing here? I thought you left."

"Where's Yuna?" Dona demanded. Tidus silently pointed to the door of the Trials. "Then why are you here?"

"Hey, I'm not a guardian, so I'm not supposed to go in, right?" Tidus complained.

"Not a guardian, you say?" Dona seemed to contemplate this. Ariana took the opportunity to drop Tidus like a hot potato and hurry away from the group, dragging Rosalie with her.

"Don't say a word, you'll thank me later," she muttered, slapping a hand on the protesting woman's mouth. She released her once they were back outside, where there would be witnesses if Dona tried anything with them.

"Are we _seriously_ leaving him alone?" Rosalie asked when she was free. "I feel bad that we ditched him like that."

"He needs to start piecing the puzzle together," Ariana said reasonably, sitting on the stone steps. "I personally think that it kind of nudges Yuna into wanting him to be there every time she's finished a Trial and gets her courage to ask him."

Rosalie nodded and sat in the shade, avoiding the sunlight. "Any ideas on how we'll get her to accept us as her Guardians?" Ariana shook her head, her hair swishing along her skin softly. "Have you ever considered just asking her? Say we admire her courage and strength and wish to offer our services to her as Guardians?" Rosalie asked. Ariana thought for a moment and then shrugged.

"Can't say I have. However, it would seem a little weird if we just came out and asked. Lulu's more paranoid than me; she'd think we were trying to ruin the pilgrimage."

"True. Well, we'd better get on that boat and prove ourselves. Luca may be the best place to do it."

"We've got time between now and the end of the tournament in Luca to think of something," she reassured. "If worst comes to worst, go after the fiends in the stadium."

"What about the Al Bhed?" she reminded. "They're going to take Yuna."

"Oh balls, I forgot about them," she frowned. "We'll have to play that by ear. We'll have to make up some excuse to stay with them."

"Maybe we could say we want to watch the Aurochs," Rosalie reasoned. 

"Yeah," she muttered. "Oh look, here they come. Lulu doesn't look too happy."

Rosalie nodded in agreement before standing up with Ariana. "Hope we have an excuse as to why we ditched Tidus," she whispered.

"Excuse me, but does anyone around here own this...thing?" one of the priests said distastefully, holding up a yowling Sev by the scruff of his neck.

"Problem solved," she said aside to her friend before running to the priest. "Oh my baby! Thank you so much; I've been looking for him!"

"Yes, well," the priest sniffed, cheeks turning pink when Ariana hugged him. "Don't let him wander off again. He had a little accident-"

"That's no problem!" she beamed, cuddling the evil shit that was her cat. "Thanks again." She made her way back to the group with her now purring cat. "What'd I miss?" she asked innocently.

Rosalie snickered. "I think your cat went to the bathroom in the Temple."

"Nope, not my kitty," she said firmly. "He's a role-model. A cat for all cats to aspire to. Unlike his namesake."

"Uh huh." Rosalie continued to laugh. "My Squatter Monkey hasn't caused trouble yet."

"Who's for lunch? Yuna, have you met my cat?" Ariana babbled, taking Yuna by the arm and leading the group back down to the village. She found out later that Severus had decided to take a shit on top of Yunalesca's statue. Well. At least her cat was a good judge of character.


	3. Aboard the S.S. Winno

"I never really asked before, but how did Snape react when you called the cat after him?" Rosalie asked as they sat in their cabin that evening. They were aboard the S.S. Winno, and would reach Luca in a couple of days.

"He was a mix of smug and annoyed," she recalled, putting her bag onto her bed. "Until Sev peed on him. Or trolled him. I can't really remember. But yeah, he hated the cat after that."

"He'd probably hate him more if he knew he pooped on the statue head of a religious figure." Rosalie mused.

"Or be weirdly proud." Ariana paused. "Sirius definitely would be. And all the bitches in Akatsuki HQ."

Rosalie snickered. "Oh yeah. I miss the goofballs. Don't forget the Weasley Twins."

"God, I wish I could," Ariana groaned, eyeing the bathroom. "Now. Do you want a shower first?"

"Nah. Go ahead. You look like you want one first. I think I'll go walk about on deck for awhile. Make sure Tidus isn't getting into trouble."

"M'kay." Ariana was already going through her bag for her favourite bathing products.

"Do I need to watch the cat or will he be fine down here with Abu?" Abu was the name of the Squatter Monkey she adopted, or rather, it adopted her.

His owner paused. "Nah. He's got his catnip mouse; he's the face of one stoned, happy kitty."

Rosalie giggled and placed Abu on her bed, where he curled up for a nap. "True. I'll see you in a bit.

Ariana waved absently as Rosalie slipped from the cabin.

Rosalie went above to the deck, watching silently as Waka and Lulu disappear to the upper deck where they'd be alone. She turned her attention to Yuna who was surrounded by the Goers and a couple other people. They talked together and Yuna giggled while Kimahri kept a vigilant eye on Yuna. She sidled over to the group and a few moments later, Tidus appeared from below and walked over to the group, more specifically, Yuna.

"What are you all talking about?" Tidus questioned.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Bickson asked snidely.

"Ah, I remember him. Guy from Kilika," Graav stated.

"Hmm?" Bickson didn't seem to remember. Maybe Rosalie had hit him too hard, not that she cared.

"You know, one of the Besaid Aurochs. Said somethin' about winning the cup." Graav clarified.

"Oh, right. You're that idiot." Bickson insulted Tidus.

"Pot, kettle, black," Rosalie mumbled.

"Don't call him that!" Yuna said, jumping to Tidus' defense.

"But he is an idiot. They don't got what it takes to win the cup." Bickson insisted rudely.

"Well, they do now that I'm here!" Tidus stated, sounding very sure of himself.

"Yes, they will win! He used to be the star player of the Zanarkand Abes!" Yuna said in agreement.

Graav laughed. "Yeah, as if anyone lived in those ruins."

"It's not ruins, there's a big city there! There is!" Yuna insisted. Rosalie winced as everyone turned to stare at Yuna like she was crazy. Tidus seemed to sense this was not going well and decided to step in for Yuna's sake.

"I got too close to Sin and-" Yuna, however, was not having it.

"There is a city, really!" She turned her back to them, clearly upset.

"Right. Whatever your Ladyship says," Bickson mocked. Rosalie snarled at him, making him and the other two book it as fast as they could. Good, they still remembered her. They'd never be able to live down the fact a girl who was probably way smaller compared to them had beaten the crap out of them. She wandered over to the railing, far enough away to give Yuna and Tidus privacy, but still close enough that she could hear.

Tidus approached Yuna, looking confused. "What's wrong? You seemed kinda mad back there."

"They were being rude and..." Yuna said, a note of annoyance in her voice. "I _do_ believe your Zanarkand exists. I really do, you know!"

"How come?"

Yuna seemed to be lost in memories. "Sir Jecht used to always tell me stories. It'd be great to see your home someday. I'd love to go there."

"Yeah," Tidus said quietly. 

Rosalie felt pity for the both of them, knowing what would come at the end. But with luck, maybe things would be different. She saw Ariana come out on deck, dressed in some light clothes and her damp hair in a braid. Rosalie nodded at her and went down below to take her own shower. Ariana stretched, savouring the feel of the cool breeze on her heated skin. Wrapping the robe tighter around herself, she walked once around the deck before she spotted Lulu and Wakka going up a familiar set of steps. Ariana grinned and swiftly crossed the deck, trying to keep her steps light.

"Well? Say something," she heard Lulu demand as she sat on the steps next to a wide-eyed Tidus, putting a finger to her lips. "You'll take responsibility?"

"Relax! He's bound to know someone in Luca," Wakka said defensively.

"And if not?"

"He could always join a blitz team," Wakka mumbled. "Anyhow, it's better than just leaving him in Besaid!"

"What? Just 'leaving him' in Luca?" Lulu had icicles dripping from her words.

"What do you want me to do?" Wakka complained.

"Yuna wants to make him a guardian." Ariana and Tidus stared at each other for a moment before shrugging and looking away.

"Oh yeah, geez... There's that too, eh?"

"And _whose_ fault is that?"

"Not mine!" Wakka denied. There was a pause. "It _is_ mine, huh?" He sighed. "Why do you think she wants to make him a guardian, anyway?"

"Because he's Sir Jecht's son."

"Oh, right...Wait, you sure 'bout that? He's really Sir Jecht's son?"

"It's hard to say, but Yuna seems to believe so."

"Okay."

"Okay? _Okay_? That's all you have to say?" Lulu said incredulously.

"Well, yeah, I mean...He's gotta decide for himself, ya? Well, him and Yuna, I guess."

"You're right, for once." Wakka cleared his throat loudly and Ariana grinned. "I wonder which is best...Why don't you tell him he should?"

"Should what?" Wakka seemed non-plussed. Lulu sighed.

"Become Yuna's guardian."

"Why me?"

"Because Yuna can't." Out of the corner of her eye, Ariana saw Tidus jerk as if he'd been shot.

"Why not?"

"He hates his father-what he was, what he did," Lulu explained quietly. "Do you really think she can possibly say to him 'I want you to be my guardian, like your father was to mine?'"

"Aren't you being over-sensitive?" Wakka asked. Lulu sighed. "All right, all right. I'll try talking to him after the tournament."

"Be discreet," the mage advised.

"I know. It's his decision." The blizballer sighed. "He doesn't like his father?"

"Apparently. He told Yuna as much."

"Hating your own father, huh? Sounds like a luxury to me." He paused, thinking. "I don't even remember my parents. Can't say how I feel about 'em."

"I...I was five then, so I remember mine a little," Lulu admitted quietly.

"Dammit!" Wakka snarled, "Sin just takes everything away from us."

And _that_ was her cue to leave. Ariana slipped from her little nook, patting Tidus on the head and went back down to the cabin, her expression thoughtful as she closed the door and took off her light cotton dressing-robe.

"Back already?" Rosalie called from the bathroom. She exited shortly after, already dressed for bed and drying her hair. "I can't imagine listening to Lulu and Wakka was all that pleasant."

"It wasn't," she assured her, unplaiting her hair and running a hairbrush through it. "I think the whole 'Wakka should ask because Yuna can't' upset Tidus a bit. Understandably."

"Yeah. Probably didn't help to hear that after Yuna insisted she believed him about Zanarkand. People looked at her like she was crazy. This must be hard for him. He's in a place so far yet so near to his home and everyone insists his home is in ruins. It's sad."

"Yeah." Severus hopped up onto the bed beside his mistress and nudged her hand, purring. She obligingly started petting him. "There's not really much we can do about it, except...well...be there for him, I suppose."

Rosalie nodded, brushing out her hair. "Ari? Do you think... Anyone back home misses us? Or any of the people we met miss us?"

Ariana was silent. "Our friends probably do. We do tend to leave without telling them, most of the time. As for home..." she sighed. "It's hard to tell how long we've been gone. When I met up with Ruben, he said we'd been missing for over a year."

"Yeah... I miss them. I miss all of them. Do you think... We'll ever go home?"

She didn't respond. She just turned out the lights and got into bed. "Night, Rose."

* * *

The next morning was bright and breezy as the S.S. Winno pulled into the big harbour at Luca. The city was buzzing with anticipation and crowds of people were milling in the streets. You could practically taste the excitement in the air. There were huge balloons and coloured banners everywhere they looked.

"It's so big!" Rosalie breathed in awe as she leaned against the railings of the ship. Luca had to be ten times bigger than New York!

Ariana nodded. "The game didn't do it justice."

Rosalie shook her head. "Nope. Wait, does this mean we'll see Seymour?"

"Oh damn. Yes, you get to see the creep," Ariana muttered, pasting a smile on her face as Yuna approached. "Morning, Yuna."

"Good morning!" she said cheerfully, bowing as per usual. "I hope you both slept well?"

"Quite," Ariana concurred, moving over to make some space for Yuna to look too. "Are you excited for the tournament?"

"Oh, yes! I haven't been to one for a few years!" Yuna exclaimed, childlike in her excitement.

"I've never seen one before," Rosalie commented. "I can't wait to see! Of course, I'll be cheering on the Besaid Aurochs!" Yuna's excitement was contagious.

"Oh, Wakka will be so happy to hear that!" she said happily, moving back. "Well, I need to find Lulu. I'll be back shortly."

"She is adorable," Ariana summed up, smiling fondly.

Rosalie agreed wholeheartedly. "She is. I think I'm already breaking one of my rules. 'Don't get attached'. She's so adorable, she's making it hard."

Ariana snorted. "That's your rule, honey. Not mine." She glanced behind her. "Anyway, I think everyone's ready to leave. You've got your bag?"

"Yes I have it. You have your cat?"

She held up a cat-carrier. "He's under control and doped-up on catnip. Come on, the others are waiting."

"Coming." She followed after, Abu sitting on her head like always. "Ugh, I hate those commentators," she grumbled.

As each team appeared at the exit ramp of their ship, the two commentators, Bobba and Jimma, would announce them and then add their own remarks to the mix. A few boats over, the Kilika Beasts were announced and were treated with some sympathy. Wakka's team, the Besaid Aurochs were next, and the two 'impartial' commentators were cheerfully badmouthing them, wishing them a safe trip home. And then, of course, the Luca Goers appeared, and the blatant favouritism began. They were really laying it on thick. Tidus was acting as annoyed as the girls felt, kicking at the dirt beneath his shoe.

"It's like this every year, ya? Don't let it bother you," Wakka said sagely. If only Tidus listened. He'd pulled a megaphone from god knows where and had climbed onto a stack of boxes.

"Stop right there, Goers!" he yelled. The Goers, and the crowd, turned to stare at Tidus, who remained oblivious. You guys are smiling now, but not for long! 'Cause this year, us Aurochs are taking the cup!" He laughed - well, more like cackled, before Wakka yanked him back down to earth. Well, Spira.

"What in Yevon's name were you _doing_ up there?" Wakka hissed.

"We sure stood out, though!" Datto said hopefully.

"We were on the sphere!" Letty seemed delighted by that fact. _Bless his little heart_ , Ariana thought vaguely.

"We were?" Datto asked, thrilled. Rosalie was bent over in laughter, clutching her stomach.

"That was hilarious!"

Three people ran past the group just then, heading further down the harbour.

"Maester Mika is here!" a teenage girl shouted.

"Already?" an elderly man yelled, waving his stick in excitement.

"The number 3 dock!" a child repeated, delighted with himself as Ariana and Rosalie groaned.

"What's up now?" Tidus asked confusedly.

"Maester Mika has arrived, that's what!" Yuna informed him.

As usual, Tidus was clueless about what everyone was talking about. And as had become her habit, Lulu explained in her quiet monotone who Mika was, and it was his fiftieth year in office.

"Fifty years? Shouldn't he be, uh, retired by now?" he asked.

"Or bed-bound?" Ariana muttered, not quietly enough. Wakka cuffed her and Tidus around the head.

"Hey! Mind your mouths, now," he scolded.

"Let's all go see him!" Yuna suggested and ran off, the group following like baby ducklings.

Tidus fussed, the crowd blocking his view. "Can't see a thing!"

Wakka shushed him."Shhhh!"

Rosalie found a box to stand on so she could see over the crowd. A few of the older people shot her dirty looks, no doubt thinking she was being rude. She ignored them and continued to watch. Loud joyous music blared out. Several people got off the boat; the first was a man with the weirdest blue hair on the planet. 

"That's a Guado, right?" a man in front of Lulu muttered to his neighbour.

"Who could it be?"

"Give you three guesses," Ariana muttered sulkily, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. She _really_ hated the guy.

"Isn't that... Maester Seymour?"

Seymour faced the boat, bent down, and did a very elaborate prayer gesture. Everyone in the crowd, except for Tidus, did it as well. Maester Mika got off of the boat, stopping in front of Seymour.

Mika started addressing the crowd in a thin, quavery voice. "People of Spira, I thank you for your generous welcome. Rise, Maester Seymour. And all of you as well. I present to you... the son of Maester Jyscal Guado, who departed for the Farplane a fortnight past. As some of you already know, he has been officially ordained a Maester of Yevon."

Rosalie winced as Seymour faced the crowd. _Yikes, that means its only been two weeks since he killed Jyscal and already he's been made a Maester and leader in his father's place._

Seymour spoke in a rich, silky voice that was designed to soothe and ensnare the unsuspecting listener. "I am Seymour Guado. I am honoured to receive the title of maester. In life, my father Jyscal worked to foster friendship between man and Guado. I vow to carry on his legacy, and to fulfil my duties as Maester to the best of my abilities."

"Whoop-de-do for you," Ariana snarked quietly, dipping her head the bare minimum as Wakka hissed at Tidus to bow. Mika and his associates left shortly after. Seymour stared at Yuna, before his gaze flicked up to Ariana and slid over to Rosalie. He studied her longer than he had the others before turning away and leaving.

 _What was that about?_ Rosalie mused as she hopped down. "What was that all about?" she murmured to Ariana. "I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing that I caught his attention. Oh, and Ari? Guado tend to have very good hearing, so-"

"So he can suck it, I don't care," Ariana huffed. "Come on, Wakka's leaving without us."

"Should I be worried he was staring at me like that?"

"Most likely," Ariana shrugged, hurrying to catch up with Wakka. "You have fun with that, dear."


	4. Welcome to Luca

At the stadium, the Aurochs, Yuna's group and the two girls waited in the Aurochs' changing room while Wakka went to get the team match-ups.

"Where's Wakka?" Tidus asked.

"At the match-up draws," Datto explained.

"We had to play the Goers in the first match last year," Letty muttered.

"The year before that, and the one before that, too!" Jassu exclaimed.

"Well, we would've lost to anyone anyway," Keepa said forlornly.

"Ouch," Rosalie muttered. "Come on, you won't win with that attitude."

The door opened and Wakka walked in, his face carefully blank.

"We're playin' the Al Bhed Psyches first. If we win, we're in the finals!" Wakka announced when the door closed behind him. "That's right, we got seeded! Two wins and we're the champions!" The entire room exploded with cheers as Wakka beamed. "First things first. Let's go over the basics again, boys."

Ariana sighed and pulled Severus out of his carrier, letting him roam around the room.

"Ari, can I speak to you a moment?" Rosalie asked.

"Talk away," she muttered, pointing a finger at the team. "They're kind of occupied."

"Who is going to follow Yuna into the city and who will stay to help in the arena?" Rosalie asked, keeping her voice low.

"I don't know-" she was cut off by Yuna running into the room, breathless and pink-cheeked.

"There you are!" she said excitedly to Tidus. "Someone said they saw Sir Auron in a café!"

"Au-Auron?" the boy repeated. Yuna seemed impatient, for once.

"Yes, Sir Auron! Let's go find him!" she insisted, tugging on his hand.

"Hey! Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! The game starts like real soon!" Wakka spluttered nervously. "C-Come back quick, ya?"

"I'll go with him," Ariana said loudly, standing up. "Make sure he's back in time. That okay, Wakka?"

"Yeah, okay," the captain replied, breathing out as Tidus went to speak to him.

"You got this place covered?" she muttered to Rosalie as she pushed her hair out of her face.

"I got it," she promised.

"Good. Keep your whip on you until you need it," the blonde ordered, pulling her bag into place, "I should be back before you need it, but..."

"Let's go now!" Yuna cried, running off with Kimahri, Tidus and Ariana in hot pursuit.

Rosalie waited until the team was distracted before she slipped out as well, deciding to stick it out in the stands, watching from a high vantage point. She was able to see the whole arena from her spot, which suited her fine. She sat down to wait, pulling on a pair of shoes she found in the bag. If she was going to be fighting, she'd rather do it with shoes on.

_Now, we wait._

* * *

They had almost reached the doors of the stadium when they realised Tidus wasn't with them. Groaning, Ariana backtracked and found him talking to the Al-Bhed Psyches. _Yuna's kidnappers._

"Oooookie-dokie Tidus, you're coming with me," she announced, grabbing one of his ears and pulling him after her, squealing the whole way. "Just because you can't speak Al-Bhed doesn't mean you should talk to them like they're idiots."

Once they were outside, she released him and he rubbed his ear sulkily. Yuna and Kimahri were standing some distance away, surrounded by people. Yuna giggled and waved as the pair approached.

"I'm sorry, please let me through," she requested, the crowd parting like the red sea and she smiled at the pair. "Hey, let's go."

"You're really famous," Tidus said. Ariana smacked him.

"Way to go, Captain Obvious," she quipped, as Yuna giggled.

"I hope we don't get separated," the summoner said worriedly.

"Yuna!"

The two girls turned around in surprise, seeing Tidus standing on the wall as he whistled _really_ loudly.

"What was _that_?" Yuna asked in bewilderment, rubbing her ears.

"Tidus being a dope," Ariana suggested as the boy glared daggers at her.

"In Zanarkand, we do this to cheer on blitz players." He whistled again. "You try it, too! But your fingers in your mouth like this."

"Like...this?" Yuna asked indistinctly as she tried to imitate him. Ariana folded her arms and shared an exasperated look with Kimahri.

"It's not working," Yuna said dejectedly after a few tries. Tidus encouraged her to continue practising, and they went for a walk around the city, with Yuna telling them both a little about its history and that of Spira's. This, in turn, encouraged Tidus to share a little bit about Zanarkand. They laughed when Yuna made a comment about tall buildings making people dizzy. Yuna, blushing, then insisted on finding Auron in that café.

"Auron's not here," Tidus said quietly after scanning the café. Yuna went to the nearest table to ask the couple sitting there if they'd seen the elusive man while Ariana's attention was drawn to Kimahri and two more Ronso, who looked older, meaner, and stronger then Kimahri.

"Why not talk, Kimahri? Not see Yenke for ten years! Say something!" a dark grey Ronso with yellow hair was saying. _Oh what's his name...Brian? Which means that guy is.._

"Kimahri forget Yenke? Forget _Biran_?" the light grey Ronso asked, bewildered. Ariana remembered he wasn't the sparkliest unicorn in the valley. _Great_.

"Leave Kimahri, Yenke. Kimahri is small Ronso," Biran said smugly. "Kimahri so small can't see Yenke and Biran's faces."

"Kimahri forget Ronso friends?" Yenke asked mockingly. "We taught you much at time of horn-molt! Biran taught Kimahri to be strong Ronso."

"Maybe taught too much," Biran added, pushing Kimahri.

"Take 'em on!" Tidus egged as Yenke laughed. Kimahri seemed to snap and threw a fast punch that Yenke didn't see. He fell with a thump to the floor as everyone gasped.

"Take it outside! The tournament's starting, you hear?" the bartender squealed as Biran hit Kimahri in the stomach.

* * *

Rosalie watched silently as Mika stood up and began addressing the crowd, Seymour standing to the left of him. "Today, on this glorious day, players from all over Spira have assembled here... To participate on this great contest of bravery, skill, and strength. All of these fine teams, equally renowned, deserve to win the cup today. Such is the nature of this contest. Let us, the spectators, play our role accordingly: let us sing to the glory of the winners, and applaud equally the valor of the defeated. Contestants, may Yevon be with you."

Mika did the prayer gesture as the crowd repeated it, roaring their approval. The spherical bowl for the blitzball tournament filled with water. The crowds in the stands continued to cheer. Rosalie wasn't usually one for sports, but the excitement of the crowd was getting to her. Besides, she really wanted the the Aurochs to win. They deserved it.Inside the bowl, the Aurochs took to their positions and waited for the game to begin. On the other side of the bowl, the Al Bhed Psyches got into position.

The ball was ejected into the air: Wakka and the Al Bhed Psyche player both reached for it

* * *

"Kimahri! Yuna's gone!" Tidus yelled. Ariana could've smacked herself. She'd forgotten to keep an eye on their summoner. She mentally shrugged, following Kimahri out of the café. _Oh well. At least things are going according to the story. It means I can predict it._

"Where in Spira have you been!?" Lulu snarled as she appeared before them. Tidus gaped at her. "Yuna's been kidnapped by the Al Bhed Psyches. In exchange for her safe return, they want the Aurochs to lose," she said quietly, her eyes flashing with rage.

"What!?"

"If they're only blitzball players, I doubt they'd do anything drastic." Lulu paused. "But we shouldn't take chances. Let's go get her."

"I'm going too!" Tidus declared. "This will be no problem! They're telling the Aurochs to throw the game, as if they needed to! I mean, how good a team can they be?"

"Wakka said the same thing," Lulu snorted. "He'll take care of the game. We should go get Yuna. The Al Bhed boat is in dock four. Let's go."

They headed for dock four, but it wasn't long before they encountered ancient machina salvaged by the Al Bhed, which they needed to fight to get past. Since they came in ones and twos, they weren't too much of a problem; but eventually, of course, there was a battle with quite a few of them.

"The Al Bhed were expecting us," Lulu muttered darkly as Ariana reached into her bag, her hand closing around her weapon anxiously even as Kimahri shook his head at her.

"You no need to fight," he rumbled at her. "Kimahri protect."

Ariana blinked at the Ronso, a little dumbfounded. _Wait...he thinks I can't fight? That is bloody insulting!_ But the calmer side of her was touched that he didn't want to risk her getting hurt. Smilling, she nodded and stood a little behind Kimahri.

"Thank you Kimahri," she muttered, as the Ronso's ears twitched. "But I will fight if I have to."


	5. The Tournament

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Rècháo, biǎo zi (熱潮, 婊子)- Traditional Chinese for Boom, bitch.

Things were going rather well in the arena, the Aurochs were playing fiercely.

"The Aurochs are keeping the score tied with some excellent defence, folks!" Bobba announced

Wakka caught the ball and looked around. Three Al Bhed's converged on his position. One smashed into him, making him drop the ball.

"Ow! He'll feel that one in the morning!" Bobba exclaimed. Rosalie hissed in sympathy and outrage.

"But the referee doesn't call the foul! Wakka's taking a real beating out there," Jimma added.

Were the Besaid Aurochs _that_ greatly despised? It wasn't fair! Poor Wakka. Rosalie knew that they'd win the match, but it didn't make it any easier to watch.

* * *

Ariana and Tidus winced as Wakka took the hit but didn't leave the game.

"Still in there!" Tidus said hopefully. Lulu snorted dismissvely.

"He won't last. Wakka's always like that."

"Ouch," Ariana muttered as Lulu shrugged.

"Let's go," the mage ordered, striding ahead of them. They continued to make their way to dock four; eventually, when they arrived, a boat was beginning to pull out of the harbour. Ariana groaned but followed Lulu's lead, taking a running jump off of the dock to reach the ship. Once they'd landed on the boat's deck, a huge machina emerged from inside the deck and of course, they had to fight it. It was mostly going okay. Lulu, Kimahri and Tidus seemed to be doing alright while Ariana was just moving from spot to spot, trying to not get squished. She was waiting for Tidus to get his 'bright idea' of using the crane to attack the thing, but time was ticking and he still hadn't done it. Sidling back to the controls, she was relieved to see that it was basically a joystick and one giant button. Wiping her hands on her skirt, Ariana twiddled with the controls, watching as the huge metal claw swung around and clamped around the top half of the machina, hoisting it in the air until gravity kicked in and the metal separated, the top half still clamped in the claw. Kimahri jumped forward, a well-aimed slice causing a spark that led to a flame catching and the entire machine exploding.

" _Rècháo, biǎo zi_ *," Ariana said smugly, shrugging when the others turned to look at her. "What? Don't judge me."

The door opened just as Tidus opened his mouth, Yuna stepping out behind an Al Bhed who most likely had been guarding her and was now sporting a huge lump on his head. Lulu darted forward, embracing the girl in a rare hug.

"I hope you hurt them," she said, semi-serious as she checked the young woman for injuries.

"A little," the summoner admitted, mismatched eyes following Tidus' movements. "What is it?"

"There were these Al Bhed that saved my life when I first came to Spira," Tidus explained, scuffing his shoe. "They took me on their ship, even gave me food. I was kinda hoping this was the same ship. But it's not. I wonder if they're all gone."

"What happened?" Yuna asked. Tidus looked a little guilty.

"Sin came up near us. I made it out okay, but I don't know what happened to their ship."

"Um, was there anyone called Cid on that ship?" Yuna asked hesitantly. The blitzball star shrugged.

"I don't know. They were all speaking that Al Bhed language."

"I see..." Yuna murmured, pressing her hands together nevously.

"So who's Cid?"

"He's my uncle, but I've never actually met him," the summoner said shyly. Tidus took a moment to think.

"Wait. That means you're Al Bhed, too, Yuna?"

"Well duh," Ariana quipped, lightly smacking the boy on the head.

"On my mother's side, yes," Yuna explained. "Cid is my mother's brother. He became distant after my mother married. But she told me to seek him out if I ever needed help."

"You're worried he was...?"

"Don't tell Wakka about Yuna's lineage," Lulu ordered. "The thing about Wakka - he never had much love for the Al Bhed."

"Whoa!" Tidus exclaimed. "I gotta tell Wakka!"

"I thought I told you _not_ to tell Wakka!" Lulu snapped in exasperation.

"The game!" Yuna reminded her. The mage blinked and her cheeks went pink.

"Oh!"

* * *

Rosalie looked up as a flare of fire shot up into the sky. She sighed as she knew it meant Yuna had been rescued. She turned back to the game.

"Thirty seconds left... The Aurochs are launching an all-out offensive!" Bobba commented

Wakka swam fast as Letty launched a pass.

"A long pass from Letty!"

Wakka caught it with ease.

"It goes through!"

Wakka avoided an Al Bhed defender and shot the ball towards the goal.

"He shoots!"

He scored with two seconds left on the clock.

"Gooooooal! Unbelievable! The Aurochs win the match, 3-2!"

Rosalie cheered along with the crowd from her spot, dancing slightly in celebration, before leaving her perch to meet everyone in the locker room.

* * *

"We won!" Tidus yelled, looking at a screen on the dock.

"We did it! We're in the finals!" Yuna cheered, clapping her hands.

"Not the most...graceful win," Lulu said quietly. "If it was Chappu, he'd still be standing."

"Hey, aren't you being just a little unfair?" Tidus said, hands on his hips as he faced off against Lulu.

" _Excuse_ me?" Lulu asked icily.

"I know I could never take Chappu's place," Tidus declared. "You're the one who told Wakka that, right, Lulu? And I don't think Wakka would ever try to take Chappu's pl-"

"Moving on!" Ariana chirped, pulling on Tidus' ear as she started to walk back to the stadium. "You are the biggest fucking idiot I've ever come across," she muttered over the boy's yelps.

* * *

They made their way to the locker room. The Aurochs stood around Wakka, who was lying down on a bench with Rosalie sitting next to him with some ice on his head and where he had gotten hit. She moved the ice when Wakka sat up and started standing up.

"Wakka, you shouldn't stand up so soon. You took a nasty hit," Rosalie reasoned, sighing when Wakka ignored her.

"Sure you're all right, Cap'n?" Datto asked worriedly.

"The game starts in a few minutes. You sure you okay?" Letty chimed in.

"We're playing the Goers, too," Jassu muttered as Wakka picked up the ball, but fell back and dropped it.

"I told you," Rosalie muttered. The door opened and Tidus entered. He stopped the ball with his foot and kicked it into the air.

"Miss me?"

"Not really," Rosalie mumbled under her breath. He passed the pall to Datto, who caught it. Yuna, Lulu and Ariana walked in, Kimahri choosing to stand outside the door as Ariana made a bee-line for the corner where her cat was chilling with his mouse.

"Lady Yuna!" Datto exclaimed.

"Are you okay?" Letty asked, worried.

"All this because of me," Yuna said, bowing. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"How can you let some Al Bhed kidnap you?" Wakka scolded.

"Hey, let it go, all right?" Tidus said uncomfortably.

"Amen to that," Ariana agreed from her corner, petting her madly-purring cat. Rosalie wandered over to the pair as Wakka continued his rant about 'those no-good Al Bhed'. "So, what's the plan now?" she asked, keeping her voice low. "Nothing suspicious yet, unless you count the fact the ref didn't call the foul when Wakka got hit. Blatant favouritism." She scowled.

"So everything's going according to the game," the blonde agreed, frowning.

"So far," Rosalie mumbled. "Let's hope it stays that way. Though I'm not looking forward to the fiends."

"Me neither." Ariana nibbled at her lip. "There was a...variable during Yuna's rescue."

"What kind of variable?" Rosalie questioned warily. In low tones, Ariana described what had happened on the boat, keeping an eye on the others - most specifically, Yuna. "It must means some things will change. Let's hope it's nothing too drastic that it changes everything and leaves us blindsided," she mused.

"Yeah, I know. We'll have to keep on our toes for the moment," Ariana agreed, brows furrowing as her cat patted her nose. "At least until Auron arrives. That'll take some of the pressure off."

"We've faced strange odds before. I think we can handle it. Speaking of, any sign of the big guy?" Rosalie inquired.

"Nothing yet. I'll look for him during the game," the blonde shrugged. "Lulu and Kimahri have Yuna covered."

"I'll go back to the arena then. I found a place with a good vantage point. Too bad we don't have anything to use to communicate with each other." Rosalie shrugged. "Ah well. _Que sera, sera._ You enjoy Auron Hunting and I'll do a Batman and watch from the shadows."

"Bruce'd have your ass if you said that in front of him," she sniggered, standing up. "I'll see you after the game."

Rosalie snickered as well. "Stay safe and don't do no daring do. I'd rather not have to try and explain to the cat why you aren't coming back or you got hurt."

"Oh don't worry. He'd just mangle you," Ariana called back, the door shutting behind her.

"Like that makes me feel better," Rosalie groaned. She left after checking on Wakka again and left to watch the arena. She chose a spot closer to Seymour so she could keep a better eye on him. He couldn't see her thankfully and she settled down to wait. She prayed that the game against the Goers would end in victory for the Aurochs. They needed it. Rosalie wasn't paying much attention to the game as she looked around, trying to see any hint of the fiends that would soon invade. Someone had to have let them in somehow. Unless Seymour somehow summoned them all. The commentators were making it hard to think right now with their blatant display of favouritism.

"But who could have imagined a championship game between _these_ two teams? Our legendary Luca Goers going against the _horrendously_ ill-fated Besaid Aurochs!"

"We get it already!" Rosalie snapped, clamping a hand over her mouth and retreating further into the shadows when Seymour looked her way for a moment. A flash of red caught her eye and she saw someone in red going up the stands to sit down. She was too far to see if was Auron and she really cursed the fact that she couldn't communicate with Ariana at this moment. If it _was_ Auron, she could relax a little since he'd be there to help take out the fiends.

"This looks like history in the making, Bobba," Jimma said as the Aurochs took their places, as did the Goers. Bickson and Tidus met in the middle. Bickson laughed and Tidus stared at him seriously. Bickson extended his hand for a handshake, Tidus bringing his hand forward, but quickly moved his head back, as Bickson turned the handshake into an attempted punch to the face.

"They're already going at it, folks! The Goers are taunting the Aurochs!" Bobba exclaimed, a hint of a laugh in his face. Rosalie growled, making a mental note to give Bickson another black eye the next time she saw him. She was agitated all throughout the game, even up to when halftime occurred.

"And it's halftime!" Bobba declared.

"The Goers are just playing great, Bobba. Really great," Jimma gushed. Rosalie rolled her eyes.

_Stupidheads._

* * *

Ariana had just completed her first loop of the stadium, trying to find the elusive Legendary Guardian. _This is bullshit,_ she thought, scowling. _How hard can it be to find this guy?_

Apparently, really hard. She paused and turned to squint up where Yuna was sitting. She could just about see Kimahri standing guard, and she'd bet Sev that Lulu was there as well, keeping an eye on the young summoner. That took off some of the worry, at least.

Now, to figure out where that damn man was.

* * *

At the three minute mark, the game stopped and the fans got antsy at the lack of action

"The fans are getting impatient! They're calling for some action! The Aurochs' spirits are fading quickly! Are they going down without a fight?" Bobba wondered. Rosalie snorted in amusement.  The fans in the crowd started chanting Wakka's name.

"Everyone seems to be calling for Wakka, folks!" Bobba stated the obvious.

"No shit, Sherlock," Rosalie muttered, watching as Tidus floated around for a moment before swimming away. She smiled, knowing what he was doing. To her, it showed he was growing up a bit more, though he still had a long way to go.

"Say... Where is that player going? He's leaving the sphere pool! He may be injured!" Bobba said.

 _Moment ruined,_  Rosalie thought. She waited patiently for Wakka to come back out, her body tensing again as she knew the fiends would arrive soon. She wasn't too worried about herself or Ariana for that matter. Neither of them had any special powers to rely on, but the time they spent training as they travelled and increasing their stamina left her secure that they'd come out alright. 

Bobba clearly didn't have any idea what was going on, even though it was obvious by the way the crowd kept chanting Wakka."I wonder what's happening? The crowd is going wild!"

Wakka swam back into the sphere, much to the delight of the crowd and his team.

"Ah! It's Wakka! He's back on the field and ready to go! The Aurochs seem glad to have him back."

The game continued without a hitch, Rosalie on high alert now, crouching down near the edge, not caring if she was seen. She had other things to worry about. She did smile when the winning goal for the Aurochs was scored.

Bobba sounded dumbfounded, "Unbelievable! The Aurochs win, folks! This is one for the record books!"

The crowd lifted their arms and cheered loudly while those who supported the Goers either groaned in disappointment or sat there in stunned silence.

Wakka lay down in the water and Tidus swam up to him. Wakka gave him a thumbs up.

Suddenly, the crowd started shrieking as Sahagin Chiefs surrounded Wakka and Tidus in the sphere, dozens of them. The two managed to eliminate them, though.

Rosalie took that as her cue to get down there and start helping. She didn't have time to carefully pick her way down, so she pulled out her whip and used it to wrap around a piece of the stadium and swung down to one of the lower levels. She started cracking her whip at the approaching fiends, sending out spell after spell, taking out a fair few. She wrapped the whip around one and swung it over the railing, where it fell to the ground below and burst into pyerflies. She briefly peered over the edge and frowned when she saw it didn't make much distance. Oh well, best get back to fighting and worry about disappointing her sensei later. She had fiends to destroy.

Panicked crowds were never fun. She kept getting shoved around and her feet trod on while she was trying to get rid of the fiends. She lost count of how many people she had to tell to get to the exits and get out of her way. She hated sporting events!

* * *

It was absolute chaos, Ariana decided as she fought through the crowd, her hand rummaging in her bag for her weapon. She smiled grimly, her hand closing around the handle and she pulled the finely wrought sword out, slicing through a Garuda's neck cleanly when it got in her way. The fiend exploded into pyreflies as the young woman continued running, searching, scanning her surroundings.

"Head for the exit!" she shouted, pushing one woman out of the way. "Get out now!"

Luca seemed to never have had that many fiend attacks before, the blonde summarised, And probably not this many in such a small area. Her eyes narrowed as she spied an enormous, dragon-type fiend looming over a child. _A Vouivre. Perfect._ Ariana pressed a hidden button in the handle of her sword. The waving metal spilt apart, arching back to face its wielder. A thin sliver of metal connected the two arcs, and an arrow was nocked into place as she took her stance. The Genji bow (with a few of her own, personal touches, she thought smugly) kicked ass. The arrow was released, landing in the eye of the Vouivre. As the beast roared in pain, Ariana rushed forwards, the bow collapsing back into a sword and she took a swipe at its head. The beast collapsed onto the ground, turning into pyreflies almost immediately. The arrow clattered onto the stone floor. Ariana leaned down, offering a hand to the child with a smile.

"You okay?" she asked. The child whimpered and latched onto her skirt, just as she heard a hiss behind her. She peeked over her shoulder.

_It had a mate. Fucking peachy._

Her fingers tightened around the sword handle as she eyed the rows of sharp teeth a few inches from her face. The beast paused and swung its huge head to the side, its attention caught by something. _Or_ _someone_ , Ariana mentally huffed. _About damn time._ The Legendary Guardian himself stood a few feet away, his gaze tracking the fiend's every move from behind his dark glasses as the breeze played with the long fabric of his distinctive scarlet coat and ruffled the short tufts of hair. His katana rested on his shoulder.

The Vouivre hissed, turning to fully face the greater threat. The man's eye closed as he smirked, opening again as he took his stance and freeing his left arm in a swiftly fluid motion, focusing on the beast for a moment before lunging forward and bringing the enormous katana down. The fiend fell to the ground and disappeared in a shower of pyreflies as the Guardian stepped forward, his gaze resting on Ariana and the wailing child.

"You left your back open," he said without preamble. Ariana stiffened.

"I realise that," she said coolly. "Thank you for your assistance."

The man huffed at her just as Tidus and Wakka approached and three more fiends swooped in; a Dingo, and another Garuda and Vouivre.

"Hey, gimme a break!" Tidus whined.

* * *

Rosalie took out another fiend and looked up at Seymour, waiting for him to summon already, who was watching the mayhem unfold from the safety of his seat. Naturally Mika had been ushered to safety. Far be it for the people to see Mika attacked and not die. It would have blown his cover. Probably helped he was the Grand Maester.

Seymour did the prayer gesture and globes of energy started to surround him. A massive anchor descended from above, pounding into the ground.

Rosalie watched in awe and terror as from out of the ground it pulled out a huge aeon. Anima was truly a terrifying sight to behold. The Aeon did several blasts, which destroyed any fiends it hit. Blast after blast, the fiends were hit and destroyed. Eventually, dozens of shots and dozens of destroyed fiends meant all was safe. Seymour smiled and Rosalie slipped quietly away to meet up with her friends. She never wanted to be that close to Anima ever again.

* * *

 

The Genji Bow - Ariana's weapon

 


	6. Guardians

The Aurochs ran up to Wakka as he stood with the trophy, a beautiful crystal mounted onto a base.

"You're really leavin', Cap'n?" Datto asked.

"Shouldn't you heal up first?" Letty questioned in concern. None of the Aurochs wanted him to leave just yet.

"Yuna needs me with her now. I can't be lying around in some bed," Wakka explained patiently. The Aurochs all hung their heads, sad at the idea of Wakka leaving them.

"Yeah, but..." Datto protested weakly.

"Come on, look sharp!" Wakka ordered. They stood upright at the order of their captain. "The blitz season just started. Don't make those faces, ya?" He handed the statue to Datto. "Well... See you, boys! You be good."

"Cap'n..." The Aurochs mumbled without much enthusiasm.

"I can't hear you!"

"Cap'n!" The Aurochs repeated with much more energy as Wakka walked away.

* * *

"Are you sure?" Yuna asked Wakka as he joined them.

"Never liked long goodbyes anyways. Sorry for making you wait, Yuna," Wakka apologised.

"I had some promises to keep, ya. From now on, I'm your full-time guardian," Wakka promised. Yuna looked happy.

"Then welcome back, Sir Wakka. Good to have you with us."

"Hey, it's good to be back, ya?" Wakka seemed to hesitate a moment before walking up to Lulu. "So, any news on what happened?"

Lulu shook her head. "Not really. We don't know where the fiends came from. Maester Mika is safe and sound, thanks to Maester Seymour. That's about it."

"Maester Seymour's aeon... It was so powerful," Yuna said in awe.

"And creepy," Rosalie piped up as she walked over to them. "Hi Yuna, Lulu. Good game out there Wakka! I knew you'd beat them!"

Wakka blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "It was nothing, ya?"

"It's more than nothing. You showed those Goers what for and left to be a Guardian a champion. That's a huge deal."

Yuna nodded in agreement. "She's right. It is a wonderful achievement."

Rosalie smiled. "I doubt the Goers or anyone else will forget this historic moment for a long, long time." She joined Lulu, Yuna, Kimahri and Wakka to wait for Ariana and the eventual appearance of Auron and Tidus.

* * *

After Ariana had dumped the kid with a responsible-looking adult, she joined Tidus outside the stadium. Auron appeared after about a minute and jerked his head. The pair obediently followed, threading their way through the crowded city until they were at the docks which were, thankfully, deserted. The first words out of Tidus' mouth were not _quite_ what Ariana had been expecting.

"Auron! Where've you been? Ever since I came here, nothing's been right! I've been nearly eaten a ton of times, got kidnapped-"

"Whoa, slow down slugger," Ariana cut in, holding up her hands. "You're acting like a whiny kid."

"Why did you come also?" Auron asked quietly. The girl shrugged.

"I'm lost and you're a responsible adult?" she replied innocently. The man did not look impressed. Something in the blitzballer seemed to snap and he lunged forward, hands fisting in the fabric of Auron's coat.

"Hey you! Don't just stand there! All of this is your fault!" he yelled. "Getting swallowed by Sin! Ending up here in Spira! Not being able to go back to Zanarkand-everything, everything! I'm telling you, it's all your fault."

Ariana blinked. "Could you shout that a bit louder? I think there's an old lady in Zanarkand who didn't quite catch that." It was silent for a moment before Auron laughed. Tidus seemed to catch himself and released his guardian hastily, backing away.

"Who are you, anyway?" he asked after a moment. "You knew my old man, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"And you also knew Yuna's father?" he prodded.

"That's correct."

"Hey man, there's no way. That's just impossible!" The blitzballer was in some serious denial, Ariana concluded, idly braiding a section of her hair.

"Nothing impossible about it," Auron said eventually, turning to face his young ward for the first time. "Jecht, Braska, and I... Together we defeated Sin, ten years ago. Then I went to Zanarkand, where I watched over you, so that one day I could bring you to Spira."

"Why did it have to be me?" Tidus whined.

"Jesus hates you?" Ariana chipped in brightly, sticking her tongue out when Auron just stared at her before he answered.

"Jecht asked me to."

"Is he alive?"

 _Ohh you've no idea,_ the girl thought darkly.

"It depends on what you mean by 'alive'," Auron said thoughtfully, considering his words. "He is...no longer human. But then, I felt something of Jecht there in that shell, couldn't you?" Rather pointedly now, "You must have felt him when you came in contact with Sin."

"It can't be..." _And the penny's dropped._ Ariana glanced at the Guardian. He seemed to feel a bit guilty as he pondered his next words. _Shows he's still human, anyway._

"It is. Sin is Jecht."

"No!" Tidus yelled. "That's ridiculous! No way! I don't believe you!"

"But it is the truth," Auron replied, maddeningly calm. "You'll see for yourself. Come with me."

"If I say no?" Tidus snarked.

"Every story must have an ending."

"That's deep, bro," Ariana snorted. Auron shot her another look before focusing on the fussing teen.

"I don't care about your stories!" the boy snapped as the blonde rolled her eyes. _Dear God, he's such a brat._

"I see. Sorry you feel that way." His tone held enough disdain to almost make Ariana believe he didn't give a damn about the boy. "Fine, then. Come or don't come. It's your decision."

"What am I supposed to say?" Tidus exploded into a rant. "You tell me it's my decision but I don't have a choice, do I? I have to go with you! I have to! You're the only one who can tell me what's going on anyway!"

Ariana huffed, sliding from her perch to go and put an arm around the distressed teen who'd crouched on the ground, trying (and failing) to not give in to his tears.

"Irritating, I know. Or are you afraid?" The man approached the pair and put a soothing hand on his shoulder. Surprised blue eyes met his own as Tidus continued to snuffle, wiping his face with a tissue. "It's all right," he said quietly, not entirely sure who he was reassuring.

"Auron? Will I ever go home? Back to Zanarkand?" Tidus asked quietly when he'd calmed down. Auron gave him the only answer he had.

"That's up to Jecht." He walked away a few paces, then turned back. "I'm going to offer my services to Yuna. Come."

As the two caught up, Tidus trailing slightly behind as he digested all the information thrown at him, Auron glanced at the girl out of the corner of his eye.

"The news doesn't bother you?" he asked quietly as they walked. She hummed and shrugged.

"I won't lie, it doesn't _not_ bother me," she replied honestly, thinking carefully. "But at the same time, it doesn't bother me. At the end of the day, it's not my dad. It's _his_ -" she jerked a thumb over her shoulder. "and at the moment, he just needs a friend to talk to about it. I have no problem being that friend. Besides," she laughed, "There's no point in me telling anyone. After all, who'd believe me?"

And as they continued to make their way through the city, Auron had to admit, the girl did have a point.

* * *

"Do you think he's gonna stay here?" Wakka wondered as the group waited near a set of stairs just outside Luca - their agreed meeting-place if they got separated.

"Sir Auron knows him, apparently. You were right. He did meet someone he knew," Lulu replied.

"Do you think he'll find a way back to Zanarakand?" Yuna mused mostly to herself.

"In any case, I'll miss having him around," Waka stated, shrugging.

"He's still in town, isn't he? I think I'll go see him..."

Rosalie looked up from where she sat on one of the steps. "I don't think you'll have to." She pointed to where Auron was approaching with Tidus and Ariana behind him.

"Oh!" Yuna gasped.

"Whoa," Wakka breathed in awe. Wakka, Lulu, and Yuna all did the prayer gesture before Auron. Even Lulu seemed to be slightly nervous.

"Sir Auron!" Yuna breathed as the slightly fearsome Guardian approached, as serious as she remembered.

"Yuna."

Yuna bowed her head briefly. "Sir?"

"I wish to become your guardian. Do you accept?" he asked, his deep baritone rich and vibrant. Yuna gaped in surprise, stunned that such a well-esteemed person wished to protect her on her Pilgrimage.

"You're serious?" Wakka asked, looking pretty surprised himself.

"You refuse?" he said quietly when Yuna didn't answer. The young summoner shook her head frantically.

"No! no! We accept! Right, everyone?" She looked at her Guardians.

"O-Of course! No problem at all!" Wakka agreed.

"But...why?" Lulu wondered.

 _Oh, trust you, Lulu,_ Ariana thought with a small smile as she sidled her way over to her friend.

"I promised Braska," Auron stated with quiet sincerity.

"You promised my father?" Yuna asked before bowing to Auron. "Thank you, Sir Auron! You're welcome to join us!"

Auron yanked Tidus by the wrist and flung him in front of him. "And...he comes too."

Tidus stood there for a moment before bowing awkwardly. "Hi...guys. Eh...howdy!"

 _Poor boy. His mind is probably still reeling. Being thrust into the spotlight like that probably didn't help either._ Rosalie mused, feeling torn between amusement over how awkward Tidus was being and sympathy for what he learned.

"This one I promised Jecht," Auron clarified.

"Is Sir Jecht alive?" Yuna asked, her tone hopeful. Auron looked off to the side.

"Can't say. Haven't seen him in ten years."

Yuna looked down, sounding disappointed. "I...see."

"You'll meet eventually," Auron assured her. Yuna perked up at that.

"Yes. I'm looking forward to it!"

Auron stepped forward to meet Lulu. "What's our itinerary? Where are we headed?"

Ariana snickered as she let Sev out of his basket. As if he didn't know. _He's a damn good actor._

"Poor baby," she cooed as the cat stretched, muttering aside, "Everything go as it was supposed to?"

Rosalie shifted her stance slightly. "Yes. So, any idea how we get Yuna to ask us to join her as guardians or how we explain travelling with them if she doesn't?"

"I can't think of any without giving away that we know something," she replied after a moment. "And Lulu would have no problem being the accuser if that was the case."

"Auron probably already suspects," Rosalie pointed out, cuddling Abu, rubbing behind his ears as he cooed. "You know how he is."

"Oh, undoubtedly." She shrugged, watching Tidus and Yuna talking over near the railings. "But he can't really give us away without giving _himself_ away, so I think we're okay."

"That still leaves our problem of joining Yuna," Rosalie mused. "Do you think we told him what we knew, he could vouch for us? He does have his own knowledge that he's withholding."

Ariana just looked at her.

" _What_? I'm trying to come with ideas."

"No. Just...I don't...stop stressing me out. I'm working on it as best I can." She flinched as Tidus started up his weird, fake laughing. "Oh dear Christ."

"Oh, someone shut him up! He's giving me the creeps!" She shuddered, not blaming Abu for hiding in her bag in fright. The pair turned around to see everyone eyeballing them.

"What're you looking at?" Tidus huffed.

"We were just worried you guys might've gone crazy!" Wakka said teasingly as his friend shrugged.

"Sorry!"

"Wouldn't be that big of a surprise if he did," Rosalie laughed quietly.

"It's getting late," Lulu commented, glancing at the sky. "I suggest we find rooms for the night."

* * *

There was no point in starting the journey this late in the day. They secured accommodation in a neat, little inn and after a quiet supper, the group scattered to do whatever they wished. Ariana found herself sitting on the windowsill of her shared room; Rosalie had vanished after dinner. She watched Lulu and Wakka sparring in the little courtyard below, idly swinging her leg as her eyes tracked their movements. A flash of yellow in the corner of her eye spooked her, a hand flying out to smack whatever it was with all the force she had.

"Ow!" a familiar voice whined.

"Shit, Tidus, don't sneak up on me!" she huffed, slipping from her perch to help the idiot up. "Did you want something?"

"Why do you think I want something?" he asked, defensive. One slender brow rose as she folded her arms. "That obvious?"

"Painfully so," she deadpanned, sitting back on the sill. "What can I do for you?"

"I - you're not freaked out by this afternoon?" he blurted, sitting cross-legged on the floor. Ariana shrugged.

"Yes and no," she admitted. "Yeah it's weird, but at the same time, I'm not directly affected, so..." she trailed off, shrugging. "I'm more annoyed at myself for forgetting the most basic rule of combat - never leave yourself open. God, I felt stupid."

"You were pretty good though," he said encouragingly. "You do this sort of thing before?" She hummed, smiling a little. "Did you ever think of being Yuna's guardian?"

Ariana's jaw dropped. _No way. It could not be that damn easy._

Mistaking her silence as hesitation, he continued on excitedly. "I think you'd be great at it! I know Yuna likes you - why not be her guardian? It'd be fun!"

Recovering her composure, Ariana snorted. "Uh-huh, but she's supposed to ask me, Tidus, not you." Her eyes narrowed as he chuckled sheepishly. "What?"

"Um, you know how, uh, Yuna couldn't ask me to be her guardian because she thought I'd get upset? She, uh..."

"Spit. It. Out."

"She wants you to be her guardian!" he said in a rush. "You and Rose; she really likes you both and was kind of afraid to ask you so she asked me!" He glanced at her nervously when she didn't respond. "But, I mean, you don't have to! Yuna doesn't want to force you to come if you'd prefer to stay here or-" A squealing blonde missile crashed into him, the two of them falling to the floor as a stream of different languages poured excitedly in his ears.

"Ari!" he croaked, trying to prise the girl embracing him _off_ of him. "Can't - breathe!"

"Shit! Sorry!" she gasped, releasing him and sitting back on her heels as he choked in some oxygen. Pursing her lips, Ariana stood and tore a page out of her notebook, scribbling a note before folding the note up. "Will you, um, take this to Rose?" she asked shyly, handing over the paper when he nodded. "I've no idea where she went, but I'd bet money that she's gone to a park - somewhere she can vent. Just...give her this and run. Please?"

"Uh, sure?" Tidus said uncertainly. "I'll see you later, I guess."

The door shut behind him and Ariana leapt onto her bed, giggling madly. _Looks like I was worried about nothing,_ she thought smugly, planting a kiss onto her grumpy cat.

* * *

Rosalie decided to go for a walk to think for awhile, Abu going with her. She found a quiet spot and just sat there. Things had been going well so far, but now they faced the problem of how to get Yuna to take them along. Ariana had a point, Lulu would be very suspicious if they asked to go along as guardians. Yuna needed to invite them herself. The group left for Djose tomorrow and soon after the operation would begin. 

She found her thoughts turning to Seymour, feeling disturbed by how he had looked at her at the docks. He was only supposed to look at Yuna. She wasn't sure if it was a good or bad she caught his attention. She also needed to figure out a way to save him. If the girls managed to go with Yuna, Rosalie would need to snatch the sphere that Jyscal would drop before Yuna could get to it. She also needed to convince Yuna that marrying Seymour was a bad idea. She was already attached to the sweet girl and didn't want her to be hurt. She always felt off that something was wrong with Seymour's story of murdering his father. Yeah, she wasn't fond of the guy for basically ditching his wife and son on a deserted island, but still...

"Aaah!" she groaned. "All this thinking is giving me a headache. I need to let off some steam." She got up and pulled out her whip, finding a rather large rock she could beat the snot out of. She took a deep breath and began sparring by herself, the whip starting to feel like it was an extension of herself as her moves become fluid and precise. She felt like she was dancing and didn't stop until the rock was nothing more than a pile of rubble. She smiled feeling pleased with herself before digging around in her bag and finding some daggers that were small enough for throwing.

She paced herself back from a tree and started throwing, cursing herself when none of them stuck. "Damn, I've gotten too rusty," she grumbled. She picked up her daggers and forced herself to relax as she eyed the tree. She held the knife in her hand, poised to throw it.

Just as she brought her arm forward to release, she was startled when she heard Tidus yell her name, making her throw the dagger off target and impale the ground inches from a terrified man's foot. "Sorry!" She jogged over and bowed repeatedly in apology to the man.

The man disappeared as Rosalie pulled out the blade and turned on Tidus, storming over and smacking him in the back of the head. "What do you want? Hasn't anyone ever told you not to sneak up on someone who has sharp throwing projectiles in their hand? What is it that is so important that you couldn't wait til I was done?" she huffed in irritation.

Tidus rubbed the back of his head and handed her the note. She took it and opened it, reading the contents quickly before she broke out into a wide smile. She surprised Tidus by giving him a hug and a quick kiss on his cheek before she excitedly began packing up her things. Once she was packed, she grabbed her bag and ran towards the inn, Abu clinging onto the ends of her hair for dear life. It didn't take her long to reach the inn and she sped through the courtyard and through the inn, taking the steps two at a time before throwing the door open.

"Are you serious?!" she squealed, dropping her bag to the floor. Severus miaowed at her before going back to sleep. "I wasn't talking to you cat," she grumped before looking at her friend. "Is it true?"

"Yep," she beamed, hugging her pillow as she sat up. "Yuna confirmed it and everything. We're her offical guardians now."

Rosalie let out a whoop before dancing around, Abu still clinging to the ends of her hair. "Wait, did you actually give Yuna an answer before sending Tidus my way? Oh and thanks to him, I nearly impaled some man's foot with my dagger because Tidus spooked me."

"I didn't give her an answer until Tidus had left," she explained. "She didn't want to ask us herself so Tidus did. And then I made such a racket she came and asked and I accepted."

"So you gave her your answer? I suppose I better give her mine."

"I gave our answer," she said seriously. "You weren't around and Lulu was hovering."

Rosalie shrugged. "I was blowing off steam. Who knew it'd be that easy?" She paused looking down at the outfit she had since Kilika. "This doesn't look like it will last that long. I wonder if we got clothes for this too. If we didn't get warm clothes for the colder areas, we'll have to get some."

"I already checked; we don't," Ariana replied, watching her cat stretch. "We'll have to go to the market."

"No warm clothes?"

"Nada."

Rosalie groaned and started digging through the bag and pulled out a bundle of fabric. "I think I found some spare clothes. I'm trying to figure out if that's a good thing or consider it freaky that the bag seemed to know we'd be guardians."

Ariana shrugged. "Who cares?" She moved around, slipping under the covers and pulling out her ipod. "It's getting pretty late. Turn out the lights, would ya?"

Rosalie put the clothes back and turned off the light, climbing into her own bed after pulling Abu from her hair. "This is exciting."

"This is night-time, so hush!" Ariana giggled. "Also, there's a couple next door that are newly-weds...Just a heads up."

Rosalie groaned and buried her head under her pillow. "And you couldn't have warned me earlier?" She pulled her bag to her and rummaged around before letting out a cry of triumph and pulled out her iPod. She popped the earbuds into her ears and sighed when music began playing, effectively drowning out any sound. "Night Ari!"

* * *

The next morning, Ariana crept out of bed and after dressing and counting out some money, headed down to the market sector of Luca. Stalls were already buzzing with activity, wares set out to entice customers. At the edge of the market, there was a whole lane of clothing and material stalls. She wandered up and down, eyeing a pair of gloves at one stall, a bolt of material at another before she finally stopped at one near the very back, manned by an elderly lady.

"Good morning, my dear," the woman greeted with a smile. "How can I help you?"

"I'm going on a trip," Ariana hedged. "And it's supposed to be quite cold - I don't suppose you'd have anything that would help?"

"Cold weather, now, let me see," the woman hummed, bending down to root under the counter and bringing up a large box. "There might be something in here for you."

Curiously, Ariana began to sift through the clothes. Some were too big for her, while quite a few of the clothes seemed to be made for children. Eventually, she came upon a faded, teal-coloured outfit that seemed like it would suit, along with a short-sleeved brown jacket with a white fluffy collar and matching gloves. There was even a pair of boots that were a teeny bit big for her. The stall-owner was wrapping everything up for her when Ariana's eye was caught by a roll of light-blue material. She could see the dress she could make from that material, down to the last stitch. She _ached_ for that dress. She could afford it too. But she could just hear the others telling her it wasn't practical.

"I can see you're quite taken with the blue satin, dear. It's a bargain at that price," the woman said with a grin. The dress in Ariana's head seemed to be swirling around hers too, because she added, "It would be perfect with your colouring. You'd be the belle of any ball."

She _really_ wanted to be the belle of the ball. She saw herself twiling around the floor, her skirts swirling around her, her partner's hands circling her waist - but common sense prevailed. She was going on a pilgrimage, and the only ball she'd be in contact with was Wakka's blitzball. She sighed and stroked the material wistfully.

"Perhaps another time," she said with a tiny smile as she pulled out her purse. "How much?"

* * *

Rosalie woke up shortly after Ariana left. She got up and took a quick shower before throwing on her clothes and headed out to go shopping. She wandered through the stalls, buying various types of potions for future use. It never hurt to be prepared.

She wandered around before finding a whole section dedicated to clothing and material. She happily explored, everyone she spoke to was kind and helpful. She found a cold weather ensemble consisting of a faded navy coat with brown leather at the cuffs and collar, a leather belt to tie it close at the waist. The dress was the same colour with a layered skirt of faded navy and white that reached her knees that puffed out slightly, the jacket puffing out to accommodate the skirt. Two leather straps hung from the waist under the brown leather vest and white long sleeved blouse that had a v-neck down to her cleavage. To complete the look, she bough a pair of black fingerless gloves, thick black stockings and brown leather boots that reached her thighs.

It hadn't cost as much as she had thought and decided to buy a pair of leather shoes she could wear in Macalania, saving the boots for the mountains.

Satisfied with her purchases, she wandered over to the food stalls and bought food that she could take on the journey without worrying about it spoiling or going stale. Once she was done, she headed back to the inn to meet up with Ariana and the others.

* * *

After a hearty breakfast and a long shower (she was going to miss showers), Ariana stood in the middle of the room double-checking that she had packed everything. She'd dressed in her travelling clothes; a red, high-necked zip-up top, long fingerless gloves, some flats, and she'd tweaked with her skirt so that the folds of material now fell to her knees instead of trailing on the ground, held in place with the threaded fabric and the leftover material from her dressmaking.

"Oh, you're back," Rosalie said as she walked in. "Nice outfit."

"Thanks," she shrugged, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. "You might want to grab some breakfast. We're leaving pretty soon."

Rosalie dumped her armful of purchases on the bed. "Thanks for the heads up. I went and bought a variety of potions in case something happens to Yuna. You can grab some to keep on hand. I also brought some travel friendly food as inns are probably going to be few and far between."

Ariana rolled her eyes. "I know the set up, mum. Go change, pack and eat. We're on a clock here."

Rosalie stuck her tongue out at Ariana as she passed her to change in the bathroom. "Keep Abu out of the food."

"Your pet, your problem," she shrugged, picking up her bag, her purring kitty and heading for the door. "Besides, I haven't seen the monster all morning."

"Abu is not a monster," Rosalie called through the door. "He's probably bugging Tidus."

"Whatever!" she called back, slamming the door to the bedroom as she left.

Rosalie shed her Kilika dress and pulled on her guardian clothes. The top was a light blue with one shoulder strap, the end of the top stopping just under her bust, leaving her stomach bare. The skirt rested on the curve of her hips and draped down to her calves in folds, the sides slightly higher than the front of her skirt. The top half was the same blue as the top before it darkened into a pleasant purple colour, her flats matching the purple in her skirt. She wore a blue belt that hung lower on her hips, the blue fabric draping elegantly and held together in the front with a dark purple pin. She wore gold bracers laced with blue on her forearms, the same bracelet she wore on Kilika still on her upper arm and she replaced the flower pins in her hair with light purple flower pins. She examined herself in the mirror, turning this way and that. She normally didn't wear purple but the outfit made it work and she was pleased with how it looked. It would keep her cool in the hotter regions and flattered her figure.

"Alright! Looks good!" She walked out of the bathroom and packed everything up before walking out to search for her pet. Like she had thought, Abu was messing with Tidus, pulling on his hair and hiding in his hood. She had to stifle a laugh as Tidus tried in vain to catch Abu.

"Having trouble Tidus?"

She whistled softly, Abu jumping off of Tidus' head and into her arms, cooing like he was completely innocent. She smiled at Tidus as she followed Lulu out the door.

Tidus grumbled in annoyance and followed them out.

"Now, we will go to the temple of Djose," Yuna announced as her guardians gathered outside the inn. "And guardians? Don't forget to smile."


	7. Mi'ihen Highroad

Tidus ran up the stone steps, stretched, and looked ahead.

"Tidus, if you pull that shi- _stunt_ one more time, I'm going to do a very unpleasant thing!" Ariana snapped, trying to restrain her drenched kitty and climb the steps at the same time. "Besides, you're not walking Point, I am!"

"I'll do the unpleasant thing for you," Rosalie volunteered.

"My baby, my revenge," Ariana hissed, one hand fingering the hilt of her weapon lovingly. Yuna giggled as Auron's voice rang out clearly from the back.

"Tidus, back into position. Try to stay there for more than five minutes."

Rosalie offered Ariana a small towel to dry off Sev. "I'd sleep with one eye open Tidus." Rosalie warned him as he fell back into position. "She's notorious for getting revenge on those who mess with the cat."

The blond gulped, the group laughing before beginning to make their way down the Mi'ihen Highroad.

"Nice knowing you!" Rosalie said cheerfully. Nothing truly eventful happened until a short, old, white-bearded man, with a tall green hat and a high-collared green outfit stopped the group.

"Do you know what those ruins are from?" He asked, gesturing to the ruins around them.

"Some old city?" Tidus said boredly as Yuna, interested in the conversation, appeared by his side.

"Correct. A city most ancient!" the man explained excitedly. "A terrible testament to Sin's power. I tremble every time I see them. Compared to Sin, humans are mere mudpuppies!"

Rosalie let out a low whistle. " _Ay, caramba._ "

"But I believe humans are the only ones capable of defeating Sin," Yuna piped up uncertainly.

"A good reply. I am relieved to hear you say that, m'lady summoner," the gentleman said before he blinked owlishly behind his glasses. "Where are my manners? I am Maechen, a scholar. At your service, m'lady." He bowed deeply as Ariana eyed him with interest.

"So what are you doing all the way out here, Master Maechen?" she asked with a tiny smile.

"I am on a journey, studying the history of our world, Spira, seeking its stories and secrets," he answered, his chest puffing out slightly with pride. "My travels have taken me to many places, and I am troubled by what I have seen. Fragile smiles on people's faces crumbling at the mere mention of Sin. They are counting on you, m'lady. Give them a reason to rejoin once more."

"I will," Yuna assured him, her voice quiet but firm. Maechen bowed once more before heading down a tiny path that branched from the main road that the group chose to continue on. Ariana, still walking Point with Sev padding along beside her, stopped as her cat arched his back, hissing.

"I think we've got company!" she called back, palming her sword hilt, "Looks like a Garuda!"

"Take up your positions!" Auron commanded. "Kimahri, Wakka, out with me. Everyone else, protect Yuna!"

Huffing slightly at the sexist undertones, Ariana obeyed and moved swiftly back to the young summoner, Sev climbing onto her shoulder as she unsheathed her sword and took her stance. Rosalie followed after and took up a defensive pose next to Yuna, coiled to strike in case any other fiends came to join in. They handled the fiend easily enough, Lulu casting a few Bio spells to help weaken the beast. It landed with a satisfying thud in the dirt, disappearing into a shower of pyreflies. Weapons were re-sheathed as Auron gathered the items and gil left from the battle and positions were taken up again.

 _If only every battle was this damn easy_ , Ariana thought, scanning the path around her as they continued down the road. _Yu Yevon'd be a cake-walk_. Some time later, a trio of chocobo riders - two girls, one guy - ran up to them.

"Lady Summoner, I presume?" The woman who appeared to be the leader addressed Yuna.

"Yes, I am Yuna.," Yuna replied.

"I am Lucil, captain of the Djose Chocobo Knights," Lucil saluted.

"And I'm Elma. We've been charged to guard the Highroad," the other woman stated, saluting as well.

"There have been reports of a large fiend appearing in this area, with a taste for chocobos. Do take care, Summoner Yuna, if you are to rent any chocobos," Lucil warned them.

"Thank you. We will be careful."

"Good. We should get back to our rounds. Farewell." Lucil saluted again.

"Our prayers are with you," Elma called as they rode away.

"A large fiend..." Tidus mused before turning to the group. "Let's go get him!"

"Why?"

The question the tall guardian had asked seemed to throw Tidus off for a second. Then again, most things threw Tidus off.

"It's the right thing to do," he insisted.

"It's the right thing to do?" Auron repeated, chuckling.

"What'd I say now?" Tidus complained.

"Jecht said that a lot, too," Auron said wryly. "And every time he said it, it meant trouble for Braska and me."

The group snickered before they continued along the Mi'ihen Highroad which, thankfully, seemed fiend-free. They soon came across a woman and a young child.

"My Lady Summoner!" the woman greeted, doing the prayer gesture towards Yuna.

"You're a summoner?" the little girl asked Yuna, her eyes wide with excitement as she bounced slightly on the balls of her feet. Yuna smiled and nodded to the excited little girl.

"Yes. My name is Yuna."

"I'm Calli!"

"Nice to meet you, Calli."

"Lady Yuna, are you going to bring us the Calm?" Calli asked innocently. Yuna nodded, a soft smile on her lips.

"Yes, very soon."

"Yay!" Calli cheered as she started to run circles around Yuna.

"We're looking forward to another Calm, My Lady Summoner," Calli's mother said hesitantly, bowing once more.

"I'll do my best," Yuna replied, looking determined. Calli's mother looked to the guardians.

"And good luck to your guardians as well."

Calli waved to the group, then walked away with her mother. Rosalie felt sad as she watched Calli walk away with her mother. She knew Calli was young and didn't fully understand what bringing the Calm meant for the Summoner who succeeded.

"What's the Calm?" Tidus asked, ever the witless wonder. Ariana smacked him as Lulu at once went into teacher mode as she began to enlighten Tidus once more.

"The Calm is a time of peace. It comes after a summoner defeats Sin, and lasts until Sin reappears."

Yuna added in her bit as well. "Sin dies and is reborn."

"I get it!" Tidus sort of snapped before pausing, thinking it over. "I thought it was weird. Yuna's dad defeated Sin ten years ago, right? But Sin's still here! Didn't make much sense till now. Wait... If it just comes back..."

Yuna was quick to stop that thought in its tracks. "Don't say it isn't worth it... Because it is."

They started walking again, Rosalie placing a gentle hand on Tidus' shoulder as she passed. She understood all too well what he was thinking, as she had had those sort of thoughts before and while she agreed with him, she also agreed with Yuna. She and Ariana had discussed such things in a variety of situations before. No matter how many times they dealt with this, it never got any easier. They continued along the Highroad and encountered a chocobo pulling a caravan of some sort. Luzzu and Gatta were there as well, leading the caravan forward. The group headed forward and reached them.

"Hey!" Gatta called when they approached. "Hey, we saw the game! You guys were great!"

Luzzu nodded in agreement. "Congratulations, Wakka!"

Elma and Lucil rode up just then. Neither of them looked very happy.

"Hey! Stop loafing around!" Elma snapped at the two.

Gatta immediately grew nervous, knowing he was in a spot of trouble. "Uh... The lady summoner and her guardians..."

Rosalie certainly couldn't blame Gatta for being nervous, Lucil and Elma could be rather intimidating, especially if it was Gatta's first time out on such a huge mission. Rosalie looked at Ariana, giving her the look that they always gave each other when they needed to talk.

"This mission requires our full attention. We've no time to waste!" Lucil ordered, glaring at the two Crusaders. "Understood?"

Luzzu saluted. "Yes, ma'am! Apologies, ma'am!"

Lucil nodded and urged her Chocobo onwards. "Carry on."

Elma and Lucil rode off as Luzzu turned to Gatta.

"See? Keep your head down, say "sir" a lot, and you'll do fine," Luzzu reassured Gatta.

Gatta nodded, still looking a bit spooked. "Right...sir."

Yuna giggled, hiding it behind her hand. It was pretty funny once you stopped to think about it. Luzzu turned to Yuna then.

"Hey, Yuna. Even though Yevon rejected us..." He paused briefly. "We still believe in you. That won't ever change."

"Thank you, Sir Luzzu, Sir Gatta." She paused, chewing her lip. "But, you know... It's not too late for you to go back to Besaid, and..."

"We should be going, sir!" Gatta said briskly. The pair bowed to the group and ran after the caravan. Ariana sighed quietly to herself as they continued down the road, running into two people who seemed to be having a rather heated discussion. One was a Crusader, and the other, a girl dressed in green robes, with a timid, gentle voice.

"We'll defeat Sin any way we can!" The Crusader snapped at the girl.

"But Yevon's teachings say..." The girl said, sounding rather insistant despite her rather timid tone.

"Enough!"

He walked away, leaving the girl to look after him stunned.

"Jashin, what a jerk," Rosalie grumbled.

"He needs to get some," Ariana agreed, slinging an arm around the girl's shoulders. "What happened?"

"I-I only meant to..." the girl was stammering, picking at the threads in her overly-large sleeves.

"Are you all right?" Yuna asked in concern. The girl blinked at her.

"Lady Summoner...?"

Yuna and the girl bowed respectfully to each other, the latter's bow a little awkward as Ariana didn't bother removing her arm. Yuna nodded and bowed slightly.

"Yes, I am Yuna."

"It is an honour, my lady. My name is Shelinda. I am a disciple of Yevon," Shelinda introduced herself.

"What was all that about? The Crusaders' operation?" Wakka asked.

"You mean the one Gatta and Luzzu were talking about?" Tidus chipped in.

"I heard they were to use forbidden machina! I had to stop them," Shelinda protested. Tidus as usual, was slow on the uptake.

"Huh? Why?"

"The use of machina is strictly forbidden by the Yevon priesthood," Lulu murmured to him.

"That's bad, ya?" Wakka butted in. Auron didn't seem overly concerned.

"Let them use whatever they want," he shrugged. "They still won't defeat Sin."

Shelinda looked scandalised. "But, it's not about defeating Sin! The teachings of Yevon must be upheld!"

"Yeah! Right!" Wakka agreed.

 _Jeez Wakka, get a room,_ Ariana sniggered to herself.

"But you don't understand! The Crusaders won't even listen to me." There were honest-to-God _tears_ in her eyes. _Damn, Yevon really brainwashed people,_ the blonde girl thought angrily. "And it's all because I'm just a lowly acolyte."

"Don't say that," Yuna protested. "Well, I haven't been a summoner for very long myself, you see. Still, I can't put myself down every time I fail. People are depending on me. They're depending on both of us!"

"Yes! Yes, you're right, my lady. Absolutely right!" Shelinda said in delight, bowing. "Thank you so much, Lady Yuna! Now, I feel I have the courage to finish my training."

She left, looking a great deal happier than before. The group continued on until they reached an inn late in the afternoon.

"We rest here," Auron announced.

"But, this is an Al Bhed shop!" Wakka protested.

"Is that a problem?"

Wakka sputtered briefly, trying to voice his thoughts. "They don't believe in Yevon, and in Luca they..." He paused, casting a glance at Yuna "They kidnapped Yuna!"

"Where were her guardians?" Auron asked pointedly. Wakka and Lulu looked embarrassed and uncomfortable, refusing to meet his gaze.

"Me and Rose weren't guardians yet, so..." Ariana trailed off, shrugging when Auron eyeballed her.

"Not really involved in that," Rosalie finished. Yuna tried keeping the peace.

"Sir Auron's just concerned about your health," she said gently. Wakka remained stubborn as he crossed his arms.

"I'm not tired one bit!"

"Well I am," the guardian deadpanned, walking away.

"Besides, Yuna could use the rest, Wakka. It is our duty to keep her safe and well." Rosalie reminded him as she and Arianna followed Lulu, Yuna and Auron inside. "We can't do that if we don't rest as well." She called back.

The rooms were assigned and Rosalie and Ariana were roomed together. Rosalie dumped her bag on one of the beds and sat to wait for Ariana to show up, brushing out Abu's fur as he cooed lazily on her lap.

"Out with it," the blonde demanded as she entered the room, the door shutting with a sharp click behind her. "Why'd you give me that look earlier?"

"The Operation is going to happen soon, right? That means Luzzu or Gatta dies. The question is, who will die and can we save them both?"

"Who says either of them has to die?" Ariana replied stubbornly, unpicking the hair-tie from her hair. "I'm saving the two of them and that's that."

"From what I remember, it's based on what Tidus says to Gatta that determines that. I say we tie him up somewhere and then figure out how to get the other two away. We can't knock Luzzu out, he'd be freaking dead weight then," Rosalie reasoned.

"Yeah, well we can't tie up Tidus somewhere, everyone would notice he's missing," she countered, flopping on her bed. "And then things would get ugly."

"Rats. We can't let him talk to Gatta, though." Rosalie kicked off her shoes. "Hmm... Maybe we could knock Gatta out and then convince Luzzu to get Gatta to safety. Gatta would be no use if he was knocked out. We could make it look like an accident. Say he hit his head or something."

"Fine, but one of us has to stay with the group. If we both go, it'll raise red flags with Lulu at the least." She nibbled her lip. "I don't really want to talk about this right now. Auron's in the room next door - I don't want him overhearing."

"Fair point. But I'll take the fiend since you took the Al Bhed." Rosalie lowered her voice, moving over to Ariana's side of the room. "We'll figure it out. Welp! I'm going to go for a wander and see if I can't get my weapon spruced up. Want anything?" She said this last bit normal volume in case Auron did hear. She walked back over to her bag and pulled out her whip.

"No," Ariana groaned. "I've a headache. I need a nap."

"Ok, I'll stay out of the room for awhile. Do you want me to wake you for dinner?"

"No. It won't kill me to miss a meal anyway." She pulled the pillow over her face. "The door's that way."

"Fine." Rosalie grabbed her money pouch and scooped up Abu and walked out the door, closing it gently behind her. She walked out to the main room, spotting Tidus as he walked outside. She wasn't overly concerned and walked up to the counter. She got lucky when it was Rin manning the desk and he happily agreed to upgrade her weapon to the strongest spells for a pretty fair price. She'd need to practice a bit before the Operation so not to accidentally lose control. She also got some Al Bhed potions at a pretty good price and made a note not to let Wakka know she had them. Last thing she needed was him to chew her ear off about his hatred of the Al Bhed nonsense. She decided to sit and wait in the lobby, reading over one of the books on Chocobo care they had laying about. She only looked up when Auron walked past her to the door.

Some time later, Rin called to her and told her her weapon was ready. It looked the same, though the crystal seemed to flash with different colours in accordance to the spells it could now do. She thanked him profusely and promised that she would do business with him again. She ate a quick meal, feeding Abu as well before going back to her room. She quietly walked in and pulled out her iPod and shoes before leaving again. She left the inn and found a clearing that was far enough away not to do any damage to it, but also close enough if she got in trouble, she could seek help. She placed her ear buds into her ears and began practicing until the last light of the sun died and the stars came out. She went back to her room, took a shower and collapsed into bed for a well deserved rest.

* * *

Ariana waited a few minutes after her friend was gone and threw the pillow at the door, a few choice curses spewing from her lips for about a minute as Sev yawned and curled up on the windowsill. _Ron'd be proud,_ she thought with an eyeroll. _Weirdo that he is._

"Would you keep it down?" a grumpy voice cut through her musings. She squealed and sat up, hands flying to her skirt hem as Auron lounged in the doorway, looking faintly annoyed.

"What?" she squeaked, her face burning.

"You're loud."

 _Oh, when you put it like that-_ "It's a free country, I can be as loud as I want to," Ariana huffed, crossing her arms. "Haven't you ever heard of knocking? Or didn't anyone tell you to treat the fairer sex a little nicer?"

His good eye narrowed. _Shots fired. Why can't I keep my mouth-_

"I treat ladies with respect, of course," he said icily. "But I don't see a lady here."

 _Oh, the hell he didn't._ Her eyes narrowed. "Yeah, you're right," she said sweetly. "There's me and then there's a self-entitled bitch." The smile fell from her face as she pointed a finger at him. "Just 'cause you're basically a living legend does not give you the right to walk all over people." She thought for a second. "Except Tidus. Walk over him as much as you like." She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood, hands on hips as she faced him. "Look, I'm sorry if I disturbed you, but that's how I vent," she shrugged. "We're travelling together. You may as well get used to it."

The man sighed and glanced at her. "I'd ask why you're upset-" he began.

"But you don't really care," Ariana cut in, shrugging. "Look, it's stupid, bizarre and I can't really tell anyone about it unless I want to get labelled as a loony." She shook her head at his raised eyebrow. "Never mind, I'm rambling," she muttered, moving to the door and looking expectantly at the rather large man in her way. "Can you move, please?" she asked, tapping a finger against her arm. "I'd like to work out my annoyance."

"Where did you learn?"

"What?" she blinked. The warrior sighed impatiently.

"Your skill with the blade," he elaborated. "It is not a fighting style I recognise. Who was your master?"

"Oh." This, she wasn't expecting. "I had several. They each had their own style of fighting and they each used a different weapon. I just mixed a few of them together."

"And your weapon?"

Ariana smiled, tipping her head to the side thoughtfully. "A present from a very good friend," she admitted. "After I complained about learning archery and never having a decent bow...He bought it for me and I've had a few modifications added on."

"May I?" he asked, holding out a hand. She paused, thinking it over for a moment before shrugging.

"Don't see why not." She pulled it out from its sheath and poffered the handle to him. "Knock yourself out, big guy." He took the blade with a huff, holding it up and examining the finely-wrought metal with an experienced eye before handing it back.

"It's a good blade," he said quietly. "I would recommend synthing it with a few spells." He paused. "Your friend cared very much for you."

She looked at the blade with a soft smile on her face. "I know." Auron's mouth opened, then closed as he pushed himself off the door-frame and disappeared down the corridor. After a moment, Ariana went down the corridor and met Rin, the owner. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Rin agreed to synth her sword and offered to do the same to her belt (for an additional fee, of course). She agreed and handed over the soft red cloth, agreeing to pick both items up in the morning. Taking the Al Bhed book that Rin gave her and a bowl of fruit, she disappeared back to her room and read for the rest of the evening, falling asleep on top of her covers with her book in her hands.


	8. Chocobo Rescue Mission

The next morning came far too soon for the travellers. Rosalie got her two arm bracelets synthed up with some protection spells and was sitting in the front room waiting for the others. She wasn't paying much attention to what Tidus was up to with Rin but she jolted when she heard a woman scream from outside.

"Someone, help! The chocobos!"

 _Oh damn, the Chocobo Eater!_ Rosalie mentally groaned as she grabbed her whip just as Auron entered the building.

"That's our cue, let's go," Auron ordered before going back out again.

"Huh?" Tidus asked, confused.

"Oh my _god_ , Tidus," Ariana groaned, closing her book and dashing out the door. Rosalie followed after grabbing Tidus by the collar and dragging him out the door, Yuna and Wakka not far behind. Lulu was already outside and waiting with Auron.

"To the chocobo corral!" Everyone was tensed and alert, waiting for something to happen. The ground shook and several chocobos ran past them. On top of Rin's Travel Agency, a massive fiend was standing, a poor chocobo clutched in one meaty fist. It jumped down, loosening its grip; the chocobo ran away to safety. Or just plain running, Ariana supposed. The fiend faced the group, and everyone got into position to fight it.

" _Damnant!_ " Rosalie hissed. " _Quid est hoc semper accidere?_ _*_ "

"I have no idea what you said, but it can't mean anything good!" Tidus called.

"Not the time, Tidus!" Rosalie snapped.

"So, we're to be pushed off a cliff," Auron grunted as the fiend advanced, forcing the group to retreat.

"Wonderful..." Rosalie grumbled.

"Attack now! Push it back!" Auron ordered as the group attacked as one, sending it onto its back. Ariana winked at Rosalie and pulled out her sword.

" **FOR NARNIA! AND FOR ASLAN!** " she yelled, charging at the fiend and jumping on it. Her blade landed in the thick skin of the beast and she swung around, the fiend affected by the momentum. "Charge at him, you idiots!" she screamed. Most of the group appeared to be in shock, but Auron and Kimahri rushed forwards, using a combo attack to push the beast back. Ariana's sword slid out of the skin with a weird, slick-sounding pop and she flew a few feet away landing on the grass and rolling into a crouch. "Yuna! Summon!" she screeched, feeling something off about her hand. She flexed it for a moment. She could keep going.

Yuna summoned Ifrit in an explosion of rock and fire, landing neatly on his shoulder. The aeon had brown skin with thick orange fur, long horns and claws.  _Aeons are badass_ , Ariana decided, staring at him in awe as Yuna slid from Ifrit's shoulder gracefully and the aeon roared in challenge, sending a wave of fire at the Chocobo Eater that knocked him back, allowing the group to attack and push it back a bit more and lower its health further. The fiend was soon back on its feet and charged towards the group, knocking them back. Yuna had Ifrit use Hellfire which knocked down the fiend again closer to the edge of the cliff, but the fiend got back up again and charged forward again.

"It just won't quit!" Rosalie huffed, blowing some hair out of her face. There had to be a faster and easier way to get this thing down and out for good. She noticed it's feet were closer to the edge, but not close enough, They had to make it trip with one good hit, but how to trip it? She looked at her whip and then noticed that there were some sturdy looking rocks near the edge. She then noticed a button that Rin had added and to her surprise and delight, the whip grew longer. She smiled impishly, a thought forming.

"I have an idea! Everyone else, distract it! Ari, come on!" She raced towards the fiend, ducking under its arms and got behind it, heading for the edge of the cliff. She tossed one end of the whip to Ariana. "Tie it around that rock!" Rosalie began tying her end around another rock, creating a trip wire. "Hit it hard and knock it back!" she called to the others. She ducked behind some rocks with Ariana as Ifrit used Hellfire once more and sent the fiend stumbling back where it tripped over her whip and fell over the cliff with a defiant roar before it struck the bottom of the gorge, never to trouble anyone again as it burst into pyreflies.

"Well, that worked better than I thought it would," Rosalie remarked as she peered over the edge. "I had some doubts about how well the whip would hold. Rin did a good job."

Rin and a blonde-haired girl with goggles - the attendant of the unlucky chocobos, Ariana guessed - approached the group with beaming smiles.

"Have you an interest in renting some chocobos?" Rin asked. "As a token of our gratitude, the first time is free of charge. Please, ask the attendant if you wish to rent."

"Thank you so much for saving the chocobos!" the attendant gushed, eyeing the boys in the group a little too much for anyone's liking. "Please, let me know if I can do anything to repay you."

"I thought Dona was bad," Rosalie mumbled to Ariana as she untied her whip.

"Mm..Uh, you might have to untie my end as well," the blonde said sheepishly. "I think I've done some damage to my hand."

"See, this is what happens when you go batshit and charge fiends," Rosalie sighed and going to untie the other end.

"Well it was either do something or sit around doing nothing," Ariana sniffed, swanning off to the inn. "I'll be with Rin. 'Scuse me."

"And what did we learn? I thought you would have learned after what happened with the troll!" she shouted after her friend. She shook her head as she finished untying the other end and started coiling it. She froze when a rather large shadow fell over her and she felt an aura of annoyance and anger. _I feel a disturbance in the Force..._  She slowly turned around and saw Auron standing behind her, glaring at her with his one good eye. It was enough to send chills of fright dancing down her spine. "Hey, Sir Auron! What's shaking?" She grinned, trying to find the quickest way away from him. "What brings you here? This won't take long right, cause I'm tired and I need to take a shower so I'll just be going..."

Auron's hand clamped down on her arm. "Hold it. What you did earlier was completely reckless and dangerous. You could have been seriously hurt or killed even." Auron glared down at her. He paused. "It was a good idea. But no more reckless stunts. Especially from your friend."

"No promises on that. But I'll try to tone down the reckless stuff."

Auron let her go and she scurried off inside, a roll of thunder sounding in the distance promised a good storm. She was rather glad that Rikku wasn't with the group yet. She was going to be a nightmare when it came to the Thunder Plains.

* * *

"Um, Rin?" Ariana asked as she entered the lobby, spotting the young man behind the desk. "I have a little problem."

"Lady Ariana! Of course, what can I do to help you?" the man asked politely, a smile on his face. Ariana took a breath and held up her now throbbing hand. Rin's green eyes widened a fraction and he stepped out from behind the counter, speaking quickly to an Al Bhed girl before offering an arm to Ariana. She took it and the pair threaded their way through the corridors until they arrived at a tiny little room at the very back of the inn.

"My office," Rin explained as he gestured for her to sit in one of the chairs. "Please, remove your glove and let me see the damage." Ariana obediently removed the long glove and let the white fabric rest in her lap as Rin carefully took hold of her forearm, examining the swollen flesh and - Ariana swallowed when she took a peek - the awkwardly bent fingers. "It will be fine after a potion and a few days of rest," Rin said reassuringly, "But I will have to fix your fingers."

"I was really hoping you wouldn't say that," she joked weakly, her undamaged hand clenching in the fabric of her skirt. "Okay. Let's get it over with."

She took a deep breath and nodded at Rin, squeezing her eyes shut before she heard a sick-sounding _crunch_ and _pop_. A scream died in her throat as she bit her lip fiercely. _I will not cry out, I won't,_ she repeated over and over in her head as her other three fingers were 'fixed'.

"Just one more," Rin said quietly, his fingers hovering over her thumb. "I must warn you, this may hurt a bit more."

"Terrific," she managed. "Go for it, Rin." He nodded and there was another _crunch/pop_ sound, and just like Rin said, it hurt a _lot_ more than the fingers had. She didn't realise she was crying until a handkerchief was pressed into her good hand. "I am sorry, but it had to be done if you wished your hand to be healed," the man murmured, looking apologetic as he pulled out a roll of bandages and a little coloured bottle. "Please, dry your tears and drink this while I wrap your arm. Tears do not suit a pretty woman."

Ariana cracked a smile as she mopped her face and downed the contents of the bottle. "Thanks, Rin."

"It is my pleasure," he replied with a smile of his own. Outside the door, a tall man in a red coat clenched his fist before turning and walking away.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Lady Summoner, but we only have three rooms left," the girl behind the desk was saying, looking rather ruffled.

"What's up?" Rosalie walked over to Yuna and Lulu. "Is there a problem?"

Lulu sighed, crossing her arms. "There's only three rooms left," she explained, "Not nearly enough for the number of people in our party."

"Oh right. We were going to leave, then the rain messed up our plans," Rosalie mused.

"Yes," Lulu nodded. "We were just discussing room arrangements."

"Hmm... Excuse me?" Rosalie turned to the woman at the desk. "Could you tell us how the rooms are laid out?"

"We have two double rooms, each with a pull-out cot, and a single room," the girl explained, biting her lip.

"Hmm..." Rosalie looked at Lulu. "What do you think Lulu?"

The mage thought for a moment. "I will stay with Yuna, if you would like the extra bed," she said slowly, considering. "And I suppose the others can sort arrangements out themselves."

Rosalie nodded. "I will. Thank you. I feel sort of bad for whoever has to take the single." she chuckled, making Yuna giggle along with her.

* * *

"What do you mean, I'm sharing with Auron!?" Ariana hissed at Tidus

"Why are you yelling at me for?" Tidus cringed back, arms up defensively in case she decided to hit him again. "Yuna, Lulu, and Rose already worked out a room arrangement between themselves, they said we could sort out the rest. We didn't know where you and Auron were so we just took the other room because we would have lost the rooms if we didn't decide!"

She pushed right into his space and kept advancing until his back hit the wall.

"You watch your step, mister," she hissed, jabbing him in the nose with her good pointer finger. "I know how to kill a man in at least ninety-seven ways with _one_ hand. You are walking a thin line." She huffed, pulled out of his space and went down the corridor to her room with a face like thunder, leaving a terrified blitzballer behind her.

* * *

Rosalie looked up from her bag when she heard someone stomping down the hallway. She knew those steps all too well and cringed. "I think Ari found out who she's rooming with."

"What do you mean?" Yuna asked from her bed. Lulu had gone out to do whatever it was, leaving Yuna in Rosalie's care. Both had already washed and dressed for bed.

"Let's just say, when Ari's like that, stay out of her way. It bodes well for the poor unfortunate soul who crosses her path."

"Oh." Yuna looked wide eyed.

"She'll cool down, eventually," Rosalie reassured her. "If anything, she'll probably make him sleep on the floor." She giggled, pulling out her iPod.

"What is that device? I've seen you fiddling around with it before," Yuna asked, her curiosity piqued. She walked over and sat down when Rosalie gestured her over.

"It's called an iPod. It stores music on it," Rosalie explained.

"Like a sphere?"

"Sort of, except it can hold thousands of songs on it. It's my pride and joy. It has music for all moods and it inspires and relaxes me. Here." She held out one earbud to Yuna, putting the other in her ear. Yuna took it with hesitance before placing it in her ear like Rosalie had done. Rosalie scrolled through her playlists, trying to find a song that wouldn't overwhelm Yuna. She settled on _Over The Rainbow_ by Celtic Woman and pressed play, adjusting the volume so it wasn't blasting. Yuna was surprised at first but found herself enjoying the gentle music and lovely singing voices. It was unlike anything she had ever heard before.

"Incredible! It's so beautiful!"

Rosalie giggled. "Thanks. If you like, I can let you borrow it from time to time if you'd like. Just keep it away from Wakka."

Yuna smiled and nodded. "I will."

There was a knock on the door and Yuna got up to answer it.

* * *

After joining the rest of the group for dinner (made a little awkward since her hand was bandaged), Ariana picked up her cat and silently went back to her room, closing the door with a click behind her. Sev leapt from her arms and made himself quite comfortable on the bed, purring. She shot a halfhearted glare at the fluffy feline.

"Traitor," she grumbled, pushing herself off of the door and crossing the room, going through her bag for her bathing products and her huge sleeping t-shirt before locking herself in the bathroom for a wonderfully warm soak in the tub, getting out when she started to turn into a giant prune. She unlocked the door to find Auron sitting on the bed, his red coat on the bed, in the middle of unbuttoning his high collar. Her cheeks turned pink.

"Sorry," she murmured, thanking every God she could think of that she'd had the foresight to change _in_ the bathroom this time. "Bathroom's free now...I'll be back in a minute."

She picked up her bag and darted from the room, taking a deep breath once the door had closed before going down the corridor to the girl's room, knocking smartly on the door. After a couple of seconds, Yuna opened the door in what was clearly her nightgown.

"Hey Yuna," she said with a tired smile. "Sorry to disturb you."

"Oh, it's no trouble," the summoner reassured with a kind smile. "Won't you come in?"

Ariana shook her head. "I'm pretty tired," she offered as an excuse. "I just came to give you those books I told you about...hang on..." she rummaged in her bag for a second, pulling out several volumes of manga. "They're all different stories," she explained, "So let me know what ones you like when you're done and I can lend you some more."

"Oh, thank you so much!" the girl breathed, taking the little books carefully, opening one. Ariana waved her off.

"It's no problem. I'll see you in the morning." She smiled and Yuna mirrored it before closing the door. She closed her eyes for a second before heading back to her room, tossing her bag on the floor near her shoes. She felt Auron's gaze on her and met it, crossing her arms as she sat on the bed and popped some painkillers.

"Get it over with," she sighed. "Whatever it is has obviously been eating at you. You kept glaring at me during dinner."

He had a nice face, she noted absently as the guardian stared down at her.

"You were reckless today," he said without preamble. "You could have been very seriously injured, even killed."

"Isn't that the code of the guardian though?" she asked wearily. "Giving up everything to protect the summoner? Even your life?" He remained silent. "Besides, you told us to push the fiend back, so I distracted it long enough for that to happen. I was doing my job."

"There's a smart way and a stupid way to fight. You chose the stupid way and you paid for it." Her cries from the afternoon still rang in his ears. "Think next time."

"Aye aye, _mon_ _capitan_ ," she sighed, moving over to the other side of the bed as she tried to pick her scrunchie out of her hair. "God fucking dammit..."

"Stop," Auron commanded, his hands brushing her fingers out of the way impatiently. "You're making it worse."

Ariana huffed but let him at it. Sev made his way into her lap and she petted him as deft fingers worked on untangling the scrunchie from her hair. Her eyes closed and she took a deep breath, breathing out slowly. This was...nice.

"Done," he said quietly, his fingers removing themselves from her hair as sleepy blue eyes opened. "Rest. It's late."

Ariana obeyed, slipping under wonderfully thick covers on her side as Sev went to his usual resting spot by her feet. Auron switched off the light and climbed in too, settling into the soft mattress with a sigh.

"Night Auron," she said sleepily before her eyes refused to open and she fell asleep.

"Good night, Ariana," he replied quietly in the still darkness of the room.

* * *

Lulu came back eventually and raised an eyebrow at Rosalie and Yuna fiddling with the device. "What is that?"

"Oh, it's a music player, sort of like a sphere, but it holds so many songs!" Yuna said, her eyes bright with excitement.

"Really, now?" Lulu drawled slightly.

"Yes! Here!" Yuna held out the earbud to Lulu.

Lulu eyed it but took it anyways and placed it in her ear, waiting as Rosalie fiddled around some more. Rosalie changed it to an Evanescence song, _Lithium_ to be specific. She watched Lulu's face to see what she thought. She wasn't able to get much, but a very tiny smile appeared in the corner of Lulu's mouth, signifying that she at least liked it a little. 

"It's... Interesting. I'd like to hear more if you'd let me in the future," Lulu finally said.

Rosalie smiled brightly. "Of course! Lulu, could you teach me more about spells? I'd like to learn more about them as my whip uses them and I want to learn how to fully maximise them in their potential. And learn how to cast in case I don't have my whip and I can still protect Yuna."

Lulu studied the girl in front of her. She could see no trace of ill intentions in the girl's face and she rather liked the idea of passing on her knowledge to someone so eager to learn. She had tried with Yuna, but Yuna was more suited for White Magic as opposed to Black Magic. "Very well. But do not quit on me and complain it's too hard. I dislike people wasting my time. Understood?"

Rosalie nodded, saluting. "Yes, ma'am!"

Lulu nodded. "Now go to sleep, both of you. It is late and we have practice first thing in the morning, Rosalie."

Yuna and Rosalie bid each other and Lulu good night before crawling under the covers of their respective beds.

Rosalie lay awake for a while after, her mind busy. She knew the Operation would soon happen and she was scared. Things were getting even more dangerous and she wasn't even sure how she'd save Seymour without being considered a traitor by the others. With luck, the rain would last for a little while longer and give her time to think. She rolled over to her side and cuddled Abu, listening to the soft rolls of thunder and the pitter-patter of the rain, lulling her to sleep with its soothing lullaby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * (Latin) Damn! Why must this always happen?


End file.
